Stranded
by TamSibling
Summary: Complete. Post:Unfinished Business. Kara ends up stranded on a not-too-friendly planet and Lee ends up on the rescue party. Kara:Lee. R for adult themes.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hello all! This fic has been languishing on my hard drive for weeks now and I was finally able to finish it. I really wanted to post it before the premiere of Season 4 squee!, so here it is. I hope you like it.

000BSG000BSG000BSG000BSG000BSG000BSG000BSG000BSG000BSG000BSG000

"Frak, Helo! You are not doing this to me."

Kara was desperate. She refused to let her best friend leave her here, alone, on this rock with barely any supplies and no hope of rescue. She refused to return to the fleet alone and have to explain to Sharon why the father of her child was no longer breathing.

In short, it was business as usual for the indomitable Starbuck.

"Sorry, Kara." His voice was barely more than a gurgle and Kara tightened her hold on his shoulders as his glassy eyes slid over her face and then faded again. "You're going to have to save your own ass this time."

She felt his body relax against her and Kara's heart rate sped up. "No," she growled under her breath, cradling his head against her chest, convinced that she could keep Helo alive by pure osmosis. She began to rock him slightly back and forth, her cheek coming down to rest against the top of his head. He was hot with the fever she'd been unable to banish, while his skin was slightly clammy.

"Starbuck … Kara …"

"Don't talk, Helo." Her own voice was perilously close to the edge and she prayed to the Gods for help for the hundredth time in as many minutes. "You've got to save your strength. I guess I can cool my heels while you sleep this off."

He tried to laugh and the motion brought a spattering of blood to his lips. With weak hands he gripped at her forearms and once again forced his eyes to her face. Weakly, one hand drifted up, his fingers cold on her flushed cheek. "This isn't your fault, Buck," he rasped finally, working his mouth so he could say more. "Remember that, okay? Not your fault."

"I was flying, Helo." Kara couldn't – wouldn't – accept his forgiveness. "I crashed us."

Helo shook his head and then groaned. His hand fell limp at his side and Kara felt her world drop away. "Not your fault, Kara. Don't blame yourself." His voice was getting weaker and Kara knew it was only a matter of minutes – maybe seconds.

"Damn it, Helo! You can't do this! I need you."

"Tell Sharon I love her, okay? Watch after my kid, Kara." His eyes fluttered closed and Kara felt her body stiffen as Helo's lanky frame draped itself across her legs. "You'll be okay."

He was gone. Kara felt his last breath as it puffed across her forearm wrapped tightly around his shoulders. "No." She grabbed him roughly, doing her best to shake him from such an awkward position. "No, Helo! Karl! Do not do this! Wake up! Karl!"

No amount of Starbuck vitriol could fix this, Kara knew that. But she could not accept the fact that her best friend was dead. Tears she hadn't felt forming rolled down her cheeks and she buried her face in Helo's hair, rocking him back and forth, trying to pretend she wasn't falling apart.

000BSG000BSG000BSG000BSG000BSG000BSG000BSG000BSG000

Kara hated frakking rain. She had hated it on Kobol over a year ago, when it had soaked through her fatigues, plastering her hair to her forehead and making their mountainous trek even more haphazard. And she'd grown to hate the damp chill that had permeated her bones every day she lived on the wasteland they had christened New Caprica.

That was the beauty of living on a ship - no dampness, no humidity, no rain falling in torrential sheets against the ground. Sure, occasionally she missed it - missed the sound against the windows or falling through leaves. It had been one of her favorite things when she'd lived on Caprica - curling up under her warm blankets, molding her body around Zak's and listening to the rain as it fell softly outside. Those mornings had been some of the most peaceful Kara Thrace had ever been witness to.

But right now, it was simply a nuisance and Kara hated it.

She paused at the top of a ridge, taking in the terrain around her. This nameless planet reminded her a bit of Kobol. Green trees and dense foliage scattered about mountains and a few lakes. It was colder here though and Kara knew that come nightfall she would be hard pressed to find warmth. The environment was more hostile as well. She'd already killed at least two large carnivorous beasts and while Kara would have loved to use them as food, she hesitated staying in one place too long, worried their brethren might come looking for revenge.

Adjusting her bag, Kara leaned heavily against the nearest tree, trying to find some shelter beneath the leaves. She had to get out of this frakking cover or the rescue party would have no chance of finding her. If there was a rescue party-

_Frak, Starbuck, suck it up. The Old Man's not going to leave you behind._

Neither will Lee.

Kara wanted it to be true, but her relationship with her best friend was still tenuous at best. He'd ended things with Dualla pretty soon after the exodus from New Caprica, just as she'd ended things with Sam. After all she'd survived on that hell hole of a planet, the last thing Kara had the energy for was more pretending. She and Sam were occasional frak buddies, not husband and wife. It killed her to break her marriage vows, but she had entered the marriage under false pretenses, and she knew the Gods would rather she set Sam free than keep him trapped in a situation that never had a chance of working.

A loud crack of thunder startled Kara from her thoughts. "Frak." She watched the sky and counted, spotting a sizzle of lightning six seconds later. It was time to find cover, and preferably not the flammable tree kind. If the storm was getting closer, Kara needed to bunk down for the night and wait for it to pass.

She started moving again, heading for the nearest mountain and hoping to find a suitable - and uninhabited cave. She dreaded the approaching night. Once darkness fell, she'd be forced to sit and think and dwell. She'd be forced to remember that Helo was dead and it was her fault. She'd have no choice but to think about how she was going to break the news to Sharon and Hera that their husband and father wasn't coming home.

The mere thought of Helo's last moments brought tears to her eyes and Kara blinked them away. She'd cry later. She'd cry when she was off this frakking planet and had time to mourn. She didn't have that time now. There was no spare time to be had when survival was her mission. She knew that. She'd proved that on that dustball moon so long ago. The pain in her knee had almost prevented her from maintaining consciousness, but she'd fought through it and managed to save herself.

With a wry smirk, Kara wondered if maybe she could do it again. The Raptor was scrap metal, but maybe there was a settlement on this planet with a workable ship. Glancing about the dense undergrowth, she chuckled out loud. "Great, Thrace. Now you're delusional."

000BSG000BSG000BSG000BSG000BSG000BSG000BSG000BSG000

Kara eased her way into the cave, grateful for the shelter from the persistent rain despite the chance of danger. Scanning the dark interior she tried to see if this might be the safe place she needed to bunk down for the night.

It was hard to make out much of anything, but as Kara's eyes roamed over the dark recesses she felt a profound sense of vertigo. Blinking her eyes rapidly, she tried to clear her vision and found herself listing to the side. She could barely stay on her feet.

_Hold it together, Thrace. You just need sleep_. She hadn't rested since the Raptor went down early yesterday. Every muscle hurt, but Kara had learned to compartmentalize pain years ago and so she continued to ignore it. It appeared her body could not.

Edging further into the cave, Kara made the judgment that predators or not this was where she would make her bed. With a tired sigh, she found a safe haven behind the nearest boulder and sank to the ground.

As soon as she sat, Kara knew she was in trouble. Getting up again was going to take the will of the Gods. Gingerly, she stretched her legs out before her. Still doing her best to right the room, the cave wouldn't stop spinning and she felt an overwhelming urge to vomit.

_Come on, Kara._ Of course the dizziness was accompanied by a fierce headache and Kara knew it was a concussion. And while sleep was the only thing she could think about, she knew there was the very real possibility she might not wake up again.

Taking a deep breath, she stole herself for the added pain of the movement and reached for the med kit she'd brought. Opening it in her lap, it took her eyes far too long to read the labels.

Closing her hand around a pre-loaded syringe, Kara fought her flight suit up to her elbow hurriedly injecting the pain reliever. Praying it would do some good, she chucked the syringe to the side, leaning her head back against the rough wall.

Helo's face coalesced in her vision the minute her eyes closed. Kara didn't want to think about her friend, but it seemed she had no choice. He shouldn't have died. Kara couldn't fathom how they'd miscalculated the jump. If they'd arrived in orbit as they were supposed to, she wouldn't have lost control. Hell, if she hadn't been so desperate to get off the ship in the first place, she never would have been flying a Raptor. The bulky craft didn't have the maneuverability or finesse of her Viper. And now, Helo was dead.

Forcing her eyes open, Kara took in the dark interior of the cave. It was cold and the approach of night meant it would only get colder. Reaching for her bag, one of the only things she'd been able to salvage from the ship, she pawed through it. Frak. Never an extra sweatshirt lying around when she needed one.

Finding a lamp, she pulled it out and flipped it on. At least now, it wasn't quite so scary. The walls were mottled with deep crags and hidden shadows and Kara remembered much too clearly the two mountain lions she shot down earlier in the day. Teeth, fear and attitude. Kara would have admired them if she didn't think they'd tear her limb from limb.

Reaching back in, she pulled out the busted transponder. It hadn't worked eight hours ago and she doubted it would now. At least attempting to fix it would give her something else to concentrate on.

The loud whistle of wind through the tunnel's entrance startled Kara. Glancing sharply to the door, sidearm raised, she wished she wasn't so scared. Before New Caprica, she wouldn't have been, but months down on that hell hole, cold and lonely had left Kara raw. The four months she'd spent with Leoben had left her bereft of any human contact and even less stability. Kara had lived in fear every day since the Cylons attacked. And now her body could no longer differentiate between fear and anxiety. Her nerves were an open wound completely influenced by every emotion that radiated through her.

Kara hated being that weak.

Shaking the thought away, Kara lowered her gun, making sure it wasn't far out of reach. She delved back into the bag, finding a canteen of water and rations.

It wouldn't do any good to starve. Fiercely, she bit into the processed bar and drank a bit. More wind howled past and Kara tried to convince herself she was only shivering from the cold.

000BSG000BSG000BSG000BSG000BSG000BSG000BSG000BSG000


	2. Chapter 2

**Stranded: Part Two**

A/N: Thanks to everyone for the great comments on the first part. I hope you like this next part too!

000BSG000

"Sir, we've spotted what could be the ship."

"Could be?" Lee was tired of guessing. He now understood why his father hated it so much. "What about the transponder?"

"We haven't been able to make out a signal, sir." Racetrack's military demeanor never wavered.

Sighing, Lee knew guesses were the best they could do at the moment. "All right, take us below the cloud cover and we'll see what we see."

He felt the Raptor dip as Racetrack complied. Lee prayed this wasn't the sixth false alarm. The longer Kara was missing the better the chance she wouldn't survive. After twelve hours out of contact, Lee was finding the knot in his gut twisting almost painfully as more minutes ticked by.

He should have refused her request. Kara wasn't ready to be back in the air and he knew it. Foolishly, Lee had assumed that keeping her from her Viper might allow her to ease back into flying. Apparently not.

It was an easy, frakking recon mission. That's all. She and Helo and three other Raptors had been deployed to search the surrounding systems for habitable planets. Readings that Gaeta and his team had collected had indicated this newest system might offer the Fleet a real chance to lay down its burdens.

Kara had jumped at the chance to participate of course. Lee had seen the way she restlessly paced the ship at all hours of the day and night. She and Sam were over. Their marriage another causality of the Cylons. Not too unlike Lee's own marriage to Dee.

It was a wonder she hadn't murdered him in his sleep. Lee knew Ana wasn't stupid and he knew she was far more aware of his clandestine meet-ups with Starbuck than she ever let on. But instead of using his unfaithfulness as blackmail she had simply thrown in the towel.

Lee was more than grateful, but also a little a skeptical. It seemed too easy.

_About time something frakkin' is._ Even though Dee might have stepped back gracefully, that didn't mean Lee and Kara were free to be together. Of course not – because nothing between them was ever easy, simple or uncomplicated.

Lee wanted to think his reasoning for allowing Kara to pilot a Raptor on this mission was because of her skills as a pilot.

But if he was honest with himself, he knew that was a lie. Lee had simply wanted to see her happy again. She never smiled anymore, never laughed. Even when they were together, every kiss, every touch was laced with desperation. Lee had tried to get her to open up, but if Kara's emotions had been locked away before New Caprica, they were practically buried now. She wouldn't confide in him, wouldn't trust him that far. And it hurt.

So, yes, he'd selfishly given Kara clearance to fly, even though he knew it wasn't the best idea, because he loved her. He wanted her to be happy. And he wanted to be the person who made her that way.

"Sir."

Lee forced his attention back to Racetrack, taking in the mottled landscape outside the ship's canopy.

Banking to the right, the lieutenant tipped the ship's nose down a hair, bringing the undeniable sight of wreckage into view. "I think we found them."

000BSG000

"_You'll never be alone, Kara."_

_Leoben's oily voice grated on her ears just as much as his touch made her skin crawl. She willed her body not to shudder as his hand trailed down her bare arm. _

"_I'll never leave you." His breath was hot against her ear and Kara closed her eyes. A thin sheen of sweat covered her skin as his dry lips whispered over her cheek. "I'll always be with you, Kara. No matter what. Our destinies are intertwined. It is God's will."_

"_No." Her voice was a low growl in her throat. Forcing her eyes open, Kara blinked rapidly, trying to clear her vision. She couldn't bring Leoben's face into focus no matter how hard she tried and she vaguely wondered what he might have drugged her with. "Get off of me, you frakkin' toaster."_

"_Shh." His finger trailed along her skin, blessedly cool and therefore a relief despite his unwelcome touch. "No, Kara. We'll always be together. There's nowhere you can go that I won't find you."_

"No!"

Kara's outraged cry jolted her awake. Panting, she tried to sit up and found it nearly impossible. Her midsection was aching fiercely and her leg, which had simply smarted before, was throbbing painfully now. Slowly, the dark interior of the cave came into focus and as Kara's dream faded, her reality came roaring back.

The Raptor was junk metal. Helo was dead. She was stranded.

And sick. Kara could feel the sticky clamminess of her skin and the way it chilled despite the sweat that soaked her tanks. Pressing a trembling hand to her forehead, she pulled it back quickly as the heat almost scalded her.

Frak.

She groped helplessly for the med kit, reaching inside and injecting herself with what she hoped was more painkiller. She should try and get the transponder working, but Kara could already feel the pull of unconsciousness. As her vision blackened she briefly wondered if she'd awaken again.

000BSG000

"Frak."

Lee surveyed the wreckage, noting the respectful way Helo's body was laid in the shelter of the Raptor's wing. Kneeling to the side of his fallen comrade, he wrapped his hand around Helo's cold one. _Lords of Kobol, hear my prayer_.

He rarely prayed, but the pain of Helo's loss cut deep. He had been friends with the ECO for a few years now, but it was Kara's reaction Lee mourned the most. Helo had been her best friend since before the worlds ended. Now, she'd had to watch him die. Suddenly, Lee's need to find Kara was undeniable.

"Sir, it appears there are tracks this way."

Lee turned to face Tyrol, giving him a grim smile. The Chief had become indispensable on land-based missions since his time on New Caprica. It seemed his understanding of terrain almost matched his understanding of machines.

"We should bury him."

Lee met Racetrack's haunted gaze and nodded. She was right. Helo deserved a proper grave. "All right, but let's dig fast. Racetrack, Hot Dog, go ahead and start. Chief, you're with me. We're going to follow those tracks for a bit."

The man nodded once and Lee shouldered his rifle turning in the direction the Chief had indicated. They walked in silence, Lee following directly in Tyrol's footsteps to preserve the trail. Tyrol stopped at odd intervals, bending and stooping to touch certain patches of grass. Lee noted what interested him, broken twigs and trampled leaves. He watched as the Chief studied a particular section of the forest's floor, tensed and then straightened.

"What?" Lee didn't think his heart could beat any faster.

"Look." Lee followed the Chief's arm and caught sight of the darkened patch of ground.

"She's hurt." Lee's voice barely sounded like his own.

"I'd say pretty bad by the looks of it." The Chief wasn't trying to be pessimistic, just stating facts.

"Her steps were pretty even at the start, but a couple of feet ago, they got longer and heavier." Galen's hard eyes regarded Lee intently. "The sooner we find her the better, I'm thinking."

"You and me both."

000BSG000

Kara awoke, grateful for the chance at consciousness, but completely annoyed by the experience.

Her condition had not improved, despite the hours she'd obviously been asleep. The cave was still spinning and her vision was only getting worse. Knowing she had to do something constructive, Kara propped herself on her elbows, wincing as the movement caused more pain to course through her limbs.

"Frak."

"_Suck it up, Starbuck."_

The sound of Helo's chiding tone penetrated the fog around her brain. Glancing quickly about for her friend, she called tentatively, "Helo?"

"_Yeah, Buck, it's me. Thanks a lot for leaving me back there."_

Kara blinked three times, wishing she could see something. "Where are you?"

"_Over here."_

Kara turned at the sound, but still saw nothing except what she assumed were the bulky shapes of rocks. "I can't see you."

"_Gods, I never thought you were such a wuss."_

The disdain in his voice hurt.

"Helo?"

"_Yeah?"_

He couldn't be bothered, that much was plain and Kara finally figured he was a hallucination. Reaching for the broken transponder, she blinked back fresh tears of pain and loss. "Go haunt somebody else."

Minutes of silence passed and Kara was never more grateful. She twisted and turned the different parts on the device, willing it to right itself, but to no avail. The casing had cracked during the crash and damaged the internal workings. No matter how badly Kara wanted to fix it, it was irreparable.

"Godsdamnit!"

Her weak voice echoed off the cave as she chucked the useless device into the dark. Reaching for the rations and water she'd had before, Kara forced herself to eat. Her stomach, however, forced her to reconsider.

Retching, she spat the bile to the ground and fell back hard against the unyielding ground. Maybe with some more sleep …

He'd been right. She was a wuss.

000BSG000

"Sir, I don't think we should move out until morning."

Galen's voice was always even, reasonable. Regardless of what he might think, Tyrol always kept a level head.

Lee really despised him for it.

"Sorry, Chief, but you saw those tracks. Kara's hurt." Lee continued to pack his bag, readjusting the weight and discarding anything he considered superfluous. Speed was the most important thing now; speed and getting to Kara before she slipped too far away.

"I know, sir, but –"

"Chief." Lee rested his blue eyes on Tyrol's face. He knew his expression left no room for argument. He would not be deterred, no matter the risk.

Tyrol must have seen it. "I just want to go on record that I disagree with our timing."

"Noted." Lee flipped the bag closed and hoisted it on his back. "Now, let's move."

Lee took point this time with Hot Dog and Racetrack in the middle and Tyrol at the rear. Lee's feet easily traversed the forest floor, his eyes readily identifying the trampled path they'd found earlier. Lee felt no fear or hunger or fatigue. The only thing he could focus on was Kara.

He refused to believe they'd survived so much, come so far only to be parted now. Their last conversation kept playing in his head and Lee shivered at the pain she'd conveyed through her eyes. It had nearly broken him.

He refused to let their last words be ones of regret. Lee had wanted Kara Thrace for years and they were finally at a place where it could happen – where it would happen. Lee would not miss his chance.

The sound of something approaching halted their convoy. Lee paused and listened closely, trying his best to assess the danger.

"Sir, three o'clock," Hot Dog whispered from behind him and Lee turned in the direction. His eyes further adjusting to the dark, Lee could see the bulky shadow stalking towards them.

Raising his weapon, he took a few steps forward, signaling the others to flank the creature. Lee felt more than saw Hot Dog, Racetrack and Tyrol take up positions.

Lee took another step forward and stopped abruptly as two yellow, glowing eyes regarded him. Before he had more time to react, the mountain lion leapt towards him, its giant mouth wrapping itself around his arm. The creature's added weight and momentum brought Lee to the ground, his breath rushing out of his lungs as the lion landed solidly on his chest. He screamed as the hot jaw that held sharp teeth bit through his fatigues and into his skin. The pain was soon joined by the sticky, wet sensation of blood.

"Sir!"

"Apollo!"

Lee barely heard his team's cries over his attacker's snarl. Blessedly quick, he heard the sharp crack of a gunshot and felt the lion drop heavily against him.

Its jaw slackened, allowing Lee to move his arm and cry out in added pain as his pilots and the Chief ran to his aid.

The blood loss and shock forced him unconscious before they even arrived.

000BSG000


	3. Chapter 3

**Stranded: Part Three**

A/N: Thanks for all the comments!

Summary: Things get decidedly worse for Kara … and not much better for Lee.

Rating: R for some tense moments

000BSG000

Lee came back to consciousness to find it was still night. With a groan, he tried to move his arm and found it nearly impossible.

"Take it easy, sir."

The Chief's gruff voice was hushed and Lee tensed, wondering if more danger was about.

"Sitrep."

The Chief rolled his eyes and Apollo ignored it. "Racetrack and Hot Dog are watching the perimeter. There was some movement earlier – two o'clock." He pointed in that direction, but darkness made it impossible for Lee to see. "We're pretty sure it's another one of those lions."

"Think?" Lee's head was still fuzzy, but as feeling slowly returned, so did the urgency of his mission.

Kara.

"Any sign of Starbuck?"

"No, sir."

"We need to keep moving."

Lee tried to sit up and found the pain radiating through his chest was an effective deterrent. His mid-section ached, probably from bruised, if not broken ribs. His arm was on fire, the balm and bandages having little lasting effect. He groaned, loud and long before slumping back to the ground.

"You sure about that, sir?"

Lee knew if he could see the Chief's face, he'd see a smirk.

"Stow it, Chief." Lee closed his eyes and breathed deep, pushing past the pain and discomfort. He was in bad shape, but he knew Kara was worse. She would have stayed with the Raptor and defended her position otherwise. Her need to seek out shelter spoke volumes of her physical condition. And her emotional one – with Helo's death so fresh she needed to hide, regroup.

Rolling onto his side, Lee braced his arms on the ground and pushed up swiftly, forcing his uncooperative body to his knees. As he swayed unsteadily, he felt the Chief's strong grip under his elbow and leaned into the man's bulk.

With grunts and groans, Lee got to his feet, willing the dark shapes of night to right themselves. Once his vision stopped swimming, he glanced about and ordered, "Call back Racetrack and Hot Dog. It's time to move."

The Chief raised his radio to his mouth ready to speak when the distinct sound of rapid gunfire was heard in the distance.

"Frak! Racetrack, Hot Dog, come in!"

The comm. crackled and it was Hot Dog's voice they could barely hear. "… taking fire … Cylons …"

Both Lee and the Chief exchanged grim looks. Shoving the radio into his belt, Tyrol shouldered both his and Lee's bags and grabbed his gun as Lee unholstered his own sidearm.

"He said Cylons, right?"

"I don't think it was wishful thinking, Chief."

Resigned and bracing for battle, both men set off towards the sound of the fight.

000BSG000

By the time Lee and the Chief reached Hot Dog and Racetrack, the fight had already deteriorated. And it seemed, the Colonial Officers were on the losing side.

With hand signals and exchanged glances, Lee ordered the Chief to circle to the north, while he doubled back to the south. It was his hope that they could insert themselves behind the Centurions and take them out. What appeared to be a complement of six toasters were slowly encroaching on his pilots' position and he could tell from the lack of retaliatory fire that his men were running out of ammo.

Gripping his sidearm tighter, Lee picked up the pace, keeping his head bent, his eyes on the ground. Guiltily his thoughts drifted to Kara. Each impediment to him continuing the hunt for her was like a physical blow; another example of how he failed her. This knowledge simply caused him to move faster.

Reaching the far side of a giant tree, Lee leaned his back against it, checking his weapon once more and catching his breath. The sound of metal moving through the trees was easy enough to pinpoint and Lee tuned in, listening for the tell-tale sounds of the two nearest Centurions approaching. He would dispatch of these two while Galen disposed of the others. He was banking on Racetrack and Hot Dog to take care of the last pair.

Taking a deep breath, Lee adjusted his position, falling onto one knee and pivoting, using the tree to shield the bulk of his body and steady his gun. Through the scope he could make out the silver gleam of the closest target. Grimly, he set his jaw, took aim and squeezed the trigger.

His shot echoed through the dense canopy and was followed by more gun fire ringing from the distance. Before he could take out his other target, the Cylon fired, disrupting a chunk of bark just above his head. Lee ducked back, closing his eyes tight and turning his face. He heard a few more shots in the interim and then the shouts of the Chief. Whirling back in the direction of his target, Lee again took aim, only to discover the Cylon had traversed the distance between them in long strides and was now standing over Lee, his silver skin gleaming in the dusk.

"Frak." Lee rolled to his right, falling hard on his shoulder and reminding himself that his side was still tender. His downward roll was stopped by a strategically placed, if unforgiving, tree stump. Hitting it hard, he took a moment to collect his bearings, swinging his gun in front of his face in time to deflect the Cylon's razor claws.

With ridiculous precision, it slashed at Lee's face and chest, raking its sharp talons through the front of his jacket and barely grazing the skin of his chest. Scrambling back, Lee was stopped by the stump and he lunged to the side, as the Cylon attacked again. Moving quickly, Apollo avoided further injury and took grim satisfaction in the fact that his enemy was momentarily slowed as his claws caught in the dead wood.

Taking aim once more, Lee fired two rounds into the Cylon's bullet shaped head, watching the machine topple forward and fall onto its red eye with a loud clank. Breathing heavily, he felt the adrenaline coursing through his system, causing his arms to shake as he dropped his weapon to the ground and fell back. Staring at the blanket of leaves high above, Lee indulged in a moment of peace, doing his best to regain his bearings. He was also working overtime to remind his body that his mission was not over, no matter how frakkin' much his muscles ached and his side burned.

With a groan, he forced himself back onto his hands and knees and then pushed off the ground. The landscape swayed mightily before righting itself and Lee waited until his vision was clear to set off in the direction of his team.

The scene that greeted him ten clicks away was unwelcome. Hot Dog had not survived the firefight unscathed and Racetrack and the Chief were currently doing their best to staunch the heavy flow of blood coming from his chest. Lee moved quickly, dropping to his knees beside them and getting the rundown from Racetrack on what precisely had happened.

Reaching into his pack, Apollo removed a few of the precious supplies he had packed for Kara and worked diligently, doing his best to ease Hot Dog's discomfort. "You're all right, nugget," he chided gently, wondering what Kara would have said. Deciding to err on the side of brashness, he added, "Imagine what the ladies will say when they see your scar."

The injured pilot tried to laugh, but the motion brought a grimace of pain and a groan from deep in his gut. Glancing hurriedly to the Chief, Lee motioned the man to the side. "He needs Cottle." The Chief nodded, but did not speak and Apollo continued his orders. "I'm going to help you and Racetrack rig a gurney. Then, you're going to take him back to the Raptor and back to Galactica."

"What about you, sir?" Tyrol's tone implied he already knew the answer.

"I'm going after Starbuck."

000BSG000

Night was here again and Kara hated it. The shadows of the cave played havoc with her fever-addled mind and every dark shape and unidentifiable noise made her skin crawl. She had tried to move, tried to sit up at least and gather wood for a fire, anything to keep warm, but her body had protested each movement, refusing to let her do more than simply prop her back against the hard, unrelenting stone wall at her back.

So she sat, gun clutched in her hand and watched the edges of the cave. Her breathing was a low rasp, made worse by the cold and her no doubt bruised ribs. Despite the death grip she had on the weapon in her lap, Kara could feel her eyes sliding closed at regular intervals. The call of oblivion was a tempting one, but Starbuck refused to give into it again. Someone would be coming for her soon, she knew it. And she'd need to be awake, able to alert them to her location when help arrived.

Gods help her, but Starbuck was really counting on Apollo's broad shoulders and blue eyes to be the first ones she'd see. It was ridiculous really that in spite of everything they'd been through, especially since New Caprica, she assumed he would risk life and limb to come after her. After her, the screw-up, the married hotshot pilot, the adulterous bitch, the –

A movement at the edge of the cave's entrance stopped her internal self-flagellation. Doing her best to sit up, she held the gun tight and blinked her eyes rapidly, wishing her vision would clear. Wincing as the new position caused her side to pull and her leg to throb, she unsteadily lifted the gun towards the moving shadow.

"Who's there?"

"Kara?"

The voice was male, but otherwise unrecognizable and hope flared in her chest. "Lee?"

She released a sigh as he came into view, his face still obscured by shadow, but his form visible as he approached. When he did not identify himself further, she felt that hope sink to her feet. "Apollo, is that you?"

"Oh, Kara."

In a second, Kara felt her world spin away as she recognized the oily voice of her visitor. She wished she was dreaming, hallucinating, but the pain radiating through her body told her she was all too conscious. "Don't come any closer," she growled, squeezing the handle of her sidearm. "I mean it."

"Kara, what are you going to do?"

Leoben finally stepped into the small circle of light cast by her emergency lamp and his benevolent face made her sick. With that damnable understanding smile and patient gaze, he squatted beside her and stared. She tried to pull back from him, but her injuries made the movement all but impossible.

"What are you going to do, Kara?" he asked again, reaching out a hand. She flinched away violently, cracking her skull on the rock behind her. Biting her lip, she refused to cry out, refused to show weakness in front of him, but Leoben simply shook his head slightly and smiled. "Shoot me?"

"Mother frakker." She raised her weapon and pointed it at his chest, pressing the muzzle firmly into the skin just below his Adam's apple. "I'll see you in Hell," she whispered vehemently before squeezing the trigger and waiting for the satisfying boom to echo through the cave. Waited for the warmth of his blood to flow across her hands; waited for his vacant eyes to stare at her from his prone position at her feet.

But it never came. The gun clicked uselessly, obviously out of ammunition and Kara wished in that moment for her own death. She could not be captured by Leoben and the Cylons again. She could not endure those four months on New Caprica for a second time. Even Starbuck wasn't that strong.

Clucking his tongue softly, Leoben's hand covered her own as he wrested the gun away from her, throwing it towards the mouth of the cave. "Kara," he whispered, his hand gentle and cool against her fevered cheek. Unable to muster the strength to back away, Starbuck simply stared at the empty space over his shoulder, forcing her mind, her heart, her soul to go blank. "When will you ever learn? Your destiny and mine are one in the same. I'm here to save you."

"I'd rather die." The words were even, unaffected by her malice for this manipulative creature or the pain she had pushed away. There were occasional perks to her less-than-stellar childhood. Socrata Thrace had taught her only daughter how to compartmentalize pain and it was a talent Kara employed with aplomb.

She would not give Leoben the satisfaction of watching her suffer. The mother frakker took too much joy out of it anyway.

"I don't want you to die, Kara. None of us do." Leoben had edged closer and she could feel the heat from his body radiating through the few inches between them. Kara tried to move further away, but she literally had nowhere to run. "We need you."

"You need me?" Kara scoffed, rolling her eyes and trying to pretend that his close proximity didn't make her skin crawl. "That's rich. The Cylons, a bunch of machines, need the most flawed human in existence? Yeah, right."

"We're all flawed, Kara." Leoben had reached into her med-kit and was pawing through the dwindling supplies as he spoke. "Even the twelve are not perfect. Sharon fell in love with one of your pilots. Caprica is in love with Gaius. D'Anna is in love with dying." He paused, pulling out a syringe and bottle of morpha before turning to face her once more. "I am in love with you."

"That's definitely a character flaw." Kara eyed him warily as he loaded the syringe, watching as he gently lifted the sleeve of her shirt and pressed the needle to her skin. "What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to help." He injected the medicine into her vein and Kara felt the effects almost immediately. "You're running a dangerously high fever, Kara and you need to rest. We won't be able to move until morning."

"I'm not going anywhere with you." Her traitorous eyes were already closing and Kara prayed that this time she would not awake from her drug-induced coma.

"Shh." Leobeon's face hovered over hers as she fought the sleep her body was desperate for. His hand gently ran through her hair as he whispered nonsense to her and reminded her he loved her.

Blessedly, she only had to listen for a few minutes before she was once again asleep.

000BSG000

The smell of burning wood and some kind of food greeted Kara as she awoke. Blinking her eyes slowly, she took in her surroundings, noting how the firelight made the shadows on the cave walls a bit more inviting. It was still dark beyond the entrance and Kara groaned. It seemed this night might last forever.

"You're awake."

She groaned again as Leoben's voice registered. She had forgotten for a blessed minute that it was the Cylon, not Lee who had found her, consigning her to another stint in the Cylon's version of jail. She hoped this time her fake life didn't come with a kid; Kara was done playing mommy.

"And you're still alive." She rolled onto her side, trying and failing to sit up. It seemed that despite the additional rest, her body was still working against her. "I guess I was dreaming then."

"Always with the sarcasm." Leoben approached her, shaking his head slightly and Kara wanted to scream. He always talked to her in that condescending tone, trying to imply that he'd been tolerating her dry humor and wit for years, as if his patience earned him the right to touch her, to be with her, to treat her as an object. He hadn't earned that right and he never would. "What am I going to do with you?"

He sat beside her, a crude bowl in his hand, and what appeared to be an extra tank over his arm. She eyed him warily, wondering what to expect.

"What the hell are you doing here?" She tried to shrink back, finding the rocks behind her just as immovable as they had been before. "We haven't detected any Cylon presence in this system."

"An act of God," he said with an enigmatic grin that made Kara's gut churn. Handing her the bowl, he told her, "Eat."

She brought it to her nose, sniffing it. It had no distinct aroma besides something akin to beef stock and Kara grimaced at the way her stomach clenched. Gods, she was hungry. Tentatively, she placed the rim to her lips and sipped, letting the warm liquid slide down her throat. She felt her gag reflex hiccup as the first bit hit her stomach, but Kara forced the food to stay down. She'd need her strength if she was going to get away from this mother frakker.

Leoben watched her closely for a moment. Kara ignored him. She wished she could will him away, but it had never worked on New Caprica and she'd doubt it would now. Glancing about she knew there were no serrated blades around to ram in his carotid artery, but damn if she couldn't dream.

"How long have you been out here?" His quiet, patient voice raked her skin like the sharpest claws. She held her silence and continued to sip her soup. Frowning, Leoben tried again. "I'm trying to assess your injuries, Kara. How long have you been running this fever?"

Kara could give a rat's ass that Leoben was concerned. Finishing the bowl, she thrust it back in his face, her eyes never leaving his, never dropping their challenge. With another resigned sigh he had no right to, he took the bowl and headed back towards the fire.

Noting that he had left the clean tank behind, Kara grabbed it hurriedly and put it on. She prayed the added warmth would help her get through the night. Despite the heat of the soup and the bit of extra heat radiating off the fire he'd lit, Kara could feel her teeth chattering.

"Kara, why must you be so stubborn?" He turned back to her and Kara again willed her gaze not to waver. He took a step forward, a hesitancy to his gait that she was not fooled by. He'd strike at any minute – it was his way. "Do you want to die?"

Fire burned in her eyes. "Frak you."

"Even when we were together, you were never this uncooperative."

"_We_. Were. Never. _Together_." Each clipped word was sharp as a razor and Kara took some comfort in watching his face fall at her tone. "We will _never_ be together."

Leoben actually smiled, a full grin and Kara's body tensed. Wrapping her arms around her knees, she pulled herself into a tight ball, praying for the oblivion of unconsciousness. As it refused to come, she watched Leoben approach, sitting beside her, his hand resting on her cheek. It didn't matter if she pulled away or not – she had nowhere to go.

"It amazes me that every time you say the exact same things." His eyes studied her, roaming her features with a look of entitlement, ownership. Kara shivered. "The last time we were together, Kara, it started like this."

She was unprepared for the kiss. He moved so swiftly and her eyes were playing tricks on her, still blurring her vision as her fever refused to drop. As he pressed his dry lips to hers, cupping the back of her head firmly in his hand to keep her steady, she wretched.

Using all the strength she possessed, Kara shoved at him, sending him sprawling. Panting, she struggled to sit up, getting halfway there, before he'd again pounced on her.

"Get off of me." She panted, more from the pain of his weight pressing into her ribs and wounded leg than the exertion of trying to topple him to the ground. "Get off of me!"

"Kara, you're going to die out here if we don't get your warmed up." He easily warded off her jabs, cupping her face in his hands and holding her steady. "You're freezing. I can't allow you to die."

She saw something shift in his eyes as his words registered. Saw the determination there before she felt him reaching for her pants. "No," she growled low, refusing to let this thing beat her. No one had every succeeded in beating Starbuck before – not her mother, not Zak, not Lee and most definitely not Sam. A Cylon would not be the first to bring Kara Thrace down. "What the frak!"

"It's the only way to get you warm, Kara." He really believed that, that was the saddest part. Leoben's weight pressed her hard into the packed dirt floor of the cave. His knees had effectively locked her hands at her sides, and even in top shape, she would have been hard pressed to dislodge him. He'd made short work of her pants and was now undoing his own and Kara sensed the inevitable.

Flailing her head about from side to side, she ignored the additional pain it brought as her concussion protested mightily to such jarring. She ignored everything as she imagined this Cylon touching her, trying to get inside of her. It couldn't happen – she could not be violated by this thing. "No, no, no." She kept the repeating the word like a mantra, her addled brain reaching for absolution.

"I don't want to hurt you, Kara. You know I love you." He kissed her again and Kara bit his lip – hard. She tasted blood on her tongue and bit down harder until he jerked back, his hand connecting sharply with her cheek and making her see stars.

"I said I didn't want to," he whispered, his breath hot against her lips as he hovered above her. "Not that I wouldn't."

"Get the frak away from her."

Kara was certain she was dreaming. Her unconscious mind had just conjured the sound and voice of Lee, coming to her rescue. Her childhood fantasy of being rescued by a white knight was playing out before her. Kara didn't want it too. She knew that no matter what dream Lee did, he wouldn't be able to stop this. And she didn't want him to see it.

"Lee." She wanted to tell him to turn away, to leave and come back so he wouldn't be witness to her downfall. She could barely get his name past her lips. "Lee."

She felt Leoben's body shift, felt the irrepressible weight of his bulk being lifted off of her before the adrenaline in her system finally gave out and she fell unconscious.

000BSG000


	4. Chapter 4

**Stranded: Part 4**

A/N: Lee may have arrived in the nick of time, but neither he nor Kara is out of the woods yet.

000BSG000

Lee trudged along the top of a ravine, praying that the rock face he was heading for was where Kara was. He had lost her trail over three hours ago, right before sunset and he was quite literally working on faith. He had to believe Kara would remember her survival training – assess the damage, leave a hot area, find suitable shelter, wait for SAR. Please let this class be the one she didn't fall asleep through, Lee prayed.

His own wounds were troublesome, and Lee found his pace slowing. However, he only had to imagine Kara, cradling Helo's dead body, crying silent tears she would be ashamed of, and he found his pace quickening once more. She needed him, whether she could admit it or not was another matter entirely, but Lee knew, she needed him.

Just like he needed her.

They had tried the whole living apart bit and it hadn't worked. All it had done was make Lee fat and Kara domestic. But it hadn't made either of them – or their spouses – happy.

He stopped for a moment, catching his breath and ignoring the growing ache in his side. Despite his desperation to find her, he was going to have to stop soon; eventually his body would demand it.

The unmistakable sound of toasters moving through trees drew Lee's attention and he hunkered down behind the nearest stump. In the dim moonlight, he could make out the glint of metal and the Centurion's red beam eyeball as it zipped back and forth inside its bullet-shaped head.

Unholstering his gun as quietly and quickly as he could, Lee risked a glance into the clearing, noting that the Cylons moved with purpose, but not agitation. Praying they had yet to find him, he watched as they moved on, intent on a destination he was only too happy to be moving away from.

Releasing a sigh of relief, he reholstered his sidearm and stood, almost doubling over as more pain lanced through his side. This was getting ridiculous.

As his eyes scanned the ridge up ahead, he caught sight of a faint orange glow. Praying it was the signs of a low-burning fire – and Kara, he redoubled his pace. With a goal in sight his feet could not move fast enough and Lee found himself slowing as he approached the mouth of the cave. The faint glow was indeed cast by a fire and he breathed a sigh of relief. If Kara had lit the flame than surely she was –

"No, no, no."

Her pained voice clenched at his heart and Lee again reached for his weapon. The sound of another, deeper voice caused the blood in his veins to run cold. Suddenly, the presence of the Cylons and Kara's cries solidified into a horrifying realization. Sprinting the last few steps, Lee whirled around the edge of the rock, his gun aiming at Leoben's back as he crouched over Kara, straddling her in a compromising position while she struggled.

"Get the frak away from her."

The skin job looked up, startled and Lee held his gaze. He could hear Kara's small voice, could hear the pain and fear in it as she called his name. But he couldn't acknowledge her, not yet. Not until he had taken care of this latest threat.

"Ah, the all-mighty Apollo." Leoben rose, making no apology as he tucked himself back into his pants. Lee's gut churned violently and he said a silent prayer that he'd arrived in time to prevent Kara that additional pain. "Coming to the rescue, as usual."

Normally, Lee would have fenced with it. He would have feigned interest in whatever ridiculous prophecy or mission Leoben was on. He probably would have tried to pump the Cylon for information.

He wasn't in the mood.

He fired one shot and it echoed nicely off the cave walls. Leoben fell hard, dropping to the ground and Lee approached him swiftly, toeing him with his boot to make sure the frakker was dead. Satisfied that he would not be moving of his own accord again, Lee raced to Kara's side, doing his best to tamp down his fear and help her.

Her body was all but lifeless. Her lips were a dangerous shade of blue and Lee feared that she may have already sustained damage he'd be unable to reverse. Kneeling beside her, he gently lifted her head onto his bent thighs, stroking her icy cheek softly with the back of his hand.

"Kara. Kara, can you hear me?" She didn't stir at first and his heart pounded harder. "Kara, wake up. It's me, it's Lee. Come on, Kara. Don't do this."

Lee's eyes scanned her body as she refused to come around. He could see the blood stain on her pant leg and guessed at the wound there. He could also see that Leoben had managed to unbutton her pants. Nausea welling in his gut, he reached down and snapped the button back, pulling her tanks down over the waistband before turning back to her.

Everywhere he touched she was freezing. Reaching for his bag, he found the thermal blanket he'd the presence of mind to pack and pulled it free. Of course, wrapping her in this now, when she was already cold wouldn't do much good – it would simply serve to preserve her body's current temperature. Glancing towards the still burning fire, Lee adjusted his hold, wrapping a firm arm around her shoulders and another beneath her knees.

Carrying her to the fire was no easy trick, especially with his own injuries, but Lee's purpose now was clear – save Starbuck. As he placed her as close to the fire as he dared, Kara finally stirred, her eyes fluttering open and a moan escaping her lips.

"No. Get away … from me."

Ignoring her, Lee held her tight. "Kara, it's okay. It's me."

"Lee?" Her voice was so small, so weak, that Lee felt his heart clench dangerously. Holding her cheeks so she could clearly see him, he nodded and waited a second before speaking.

"Yeah, Kara. It's me. You're going to be all right."

Her hazel eyes fluttered open, full of pain and confusion. Lee offered her his most reassuring smile, wishing he knew how badly she was hurt; wishing even more fervently he knew when help was arriving. She needed a doctor.

Shaking her head, Kara groaned against more pain and tried again to back away from him. "No, you're not real. You can't be here."

"Kara, I am here. I promise you, you're safe now."

"It's a trick … has to be … Leoben."

"He's dead, Kara." Lee knew that reasoning with her was a lost cause. Hoping she wouldn't fight him too hard, he went about assessing her injuries, hoping she'd trust her instincts in time. "You've got to tell me where you're hurt."

He lowered her gently to the ground and reached again for his bag, pulling out the medkit. He had glanced Kara's depleted medical supplies on his way in and guessed she'd been doing without pain meds for quite some time. Which would more than explain her disorientation.

When Kara didn't answer him, Lee started his own inspection, glad he remembered so much of his first aid classes from the academy. Survivalist training hadn't been his favorite course, but he'd still excelled at it in his typical straight-A student fashion.

Her pupils were dilated, but responsive and Lee thanked the Gods. He felt a bump on the back of her head and the wince she gave when he pressed it told him it was more than likely the cause of a concussion. Undoing her jacket, he reached for the hem of her tanks, more than surprised when her strong hand shot out to grab his wrist.

"Kara, what-"

Meeting her eyes, he saw a familiar fire burning there that gave him hope. "Apollo?" she questioned, her voice stronger this time.

Nodding, Lee removed her hand from his wrist, taking the cold digits gently between his own. "It's me, Kara. I promise you. You're going to be okay. I just need to figure out how badly you're hurt."

She held his gaze for a moment more and then let out a heavy sigh that seemed to take her tension with it. "Pretty bad," she murmured, allowing her eyes to close.

Lee stared at her face for another moment, glad to see some of the worry lines gone. Resting his hand to her cheek, he waited until she looked to him and smiled again. "You're going to be okay."

She nodded slightly, but didn't speak again. Lee continued his assessment in silence, hissing as he pulled her tanks up and caught sight of the deep black and purple bruising around her abdomen. If her ribs weren't broken it would be a miracle. As he moved onto her pant leg, she tensed for a moment and Lee hesitated.

"What happened to the toaster?" she whispered, her eyes darting about as best they could.

"He's dead."

Kara smirked. "If only." Sighing, she willed her body to relax and again closed her eyes. "I wonder how close the nearest resurrection ship is."

"It doesn't matter. I'm not letting him within twenty yards of you again."

The conviction in Lee's tone must have struck a nerve, because Kara's eyes again flew open, an unspoken question on her lips. She studied him and Lee held the gaze. He knew these few moments were important. Kara needed to know he was serious, that he was here and he wasn't leaving. He doubted she'd believe him readily, their history held too many marks against him, but he still hoped it could be the start of rebuilding trust.

"I prayed you'd come." Kara's admittance was more than Lee could have hoped for.

"Well, apparently, the Gods listened," he told her softly. Leaning towards her face, he pressed a chaste kiss to her lips and felt her sigh softly. "Get some rest. I'm just going to take a look at your leg and then I'll wrap this blanket around you. You'll be nice and toasty. Once the sun's up, we'll plan our next move."

"You'll stay all night, right?" The fear in her eyes was undeniable and Lee wondered if he'd ever seen her so vulnerable.

"All night," he reassured, pressing another kiss to her mouth. "Rest."

She nodded slightly and closed her eyes and Lee hurried. He wanted to get her warm fast. The gash on her leg was already healing, but it was an ugly mess of dried blood and pus. Cleaning it gingerly, he redressed the wound, making sure to use as much antiseptic as possible. He had a feeling some of the detritus surrounding the cut was the start of an infection which would only make matters worse.

Rolling her pant leg back down, Lee checked the fire, stoking it gently with a few dry branches. Pulling the thermal blanket over Kara's form, he laid down beside her, his head pillowed on his bent arm. The position was uncomfortable and cold, but at least this way he could be near her.

He thought she might have fallen asleep but after a minute or so, one eye cracked open and she regarded him with a familiar frown. "What are you doing?"

Mirroring her look, Lee told her, "Trying to sleep. Like you should be."

"You'll freeze."

He shrugged. She held his gaze for another second before he caught sight of her arms trying to move under the blanket. Sitting up quickly, he tried to still her. "What is it, Kara? What do you need?"

"I need you to stop being a frakking martyr and get under this damn blanket."

Lee couldn't help but smile. That was pure Starbuck.

"Are you sure?" Despite her request, Lee didn't want her to think he was taking advantage in any way. Kara had a ridiculously good memory, especially when drunk, drug-addled or under stress.

"Lee." He met her eyes and held his breath at the look that greeted him. "Please."

There was no refusing after that. Scooting towards her, Lee lifted the blanket. Rolling onto his side, he placed a gentle arm around her mid-section, keeping her as close to his warmth as he dared. With a small sigh, she turned her face to him and snuggled in just a bit.

"'Night, Lee."

He was pretty sure he'd never heard a sweeter sound.

000BSG000

At least she was warm. Kara was in pain – a lot of it – but unlike the last half dozen times she'd awakened, she was finally warm. Her stomach still hurt and her leg still throbbed and her head still felt as if the wrong move could have it detaching from her neck, but she was finally, blessedly warm.

Inhaling deeply, she winced as her side pulled sharply. Through clenched teeth, she let the big breath out slowly, before taking another, slower this time. As the burn in her side receded, she realized that something else was different. She wasn't alone.

Opening her eyes, she was confronted with Lee's peaceful, sleeping face. He was barely more than a few inches from her, his long lashes fluttering softly against his cheeks. Kara felt a small smile tug at her mouth and couldn't help the feeling of contentedness that washed over her. It hadn't been a dream, Lee had really come to her rescue. She felt giddy and stupid, but blessed as well and Kara thanked the Gods. If she was going to be stuck in the middle of the wilderness, Apollo was the only person she'd want to be stranded with.

"_Kara."_

_Her entire body went rigid, her heart beat speeding up exponentially as she heard that calm voice speak her name. He was dead, Lee had told her so. She closed her eyes for a moment, wishing him away, but like the inexorable slide of an avalanche, he just kept coming._

"_It's time to go, Kara. You belong with me."_

_Leoben hovered above her and Kara swung out sharply, barely connecting with his shoulder. "Get away from me!" She struck out again and called frantically for Lee. "Apollo! Rise and shine!" He didn't move and when Kara glanced over to see if she could rouse him, her world dropped away as she discovered he was gone._

"Lee! Lee!"

"_He can't help you, Kara. He's not your savior." Leoben's hands were on her now and Kara thrashed about uselessly. She didn't have the strength._

_And she was no longer warm._

"No, please. Get the frak off!"

"Kara."

"Lee!"

With a start, Kara came to, her blurry vision taking a few moments to right itself. Panting heavily, she set off a coughing fit that had her retching. She could barely see through watery eyes, but she could feel warm and familiar hands on her back and she turned, catching Lee's concerned gaze over her shoulder.

Still reeling from her nightmare, Kara pulled away slowly, wishing her head would stop spinning. With her back to Lee she could pretend she didn't know how much her distance was hurting him.

"Is it dead?" Her voice was still unsteady, but she had to know.

He sighed. "Yes, Kara. He's dead." She felt a tentative hand rest itself to her shoulder. Kara could not pull away from his warmth twice in as many minutes. "You're safe."

She snorted, but allowed her body to relax a bit. She leaned back into his touch and sighed with relief as Lee placed his other hand on her back. Again the warmth that radiated from the simple touch into her fragile body was welcome and Kara sank back towards him even more.

"Was the nightmare about him?"

Kara tensed and then let out a breath before turning to face Lee. Ignoring the pain in her leg and mid-section, she held the awkward position so she could meet his gaze. "If another one comes, you can't let it take me." Lee's clear blue eyes clouded as she continued, her voice low and even. "I mean it. Shoot me if you have to, but you can't let them take me. Not again."

Leaning forward, Lee didn't speak, but simply cupped her cheeks in his hands. Holding her gaze with his own, he spoke just as slowly. "Kara, listen to me. No one is taking you anywhere. I promise."

She wanted to believe him; Gods, with everything she had, she wished she could. But Kara Thrace was not a dreamer or an optimist or even a glass-is-half-full kinda girl. Too much had happened. Too much had happened too fast that Kara could not control, and she didn't know if she had any more faith left in her.

Kara broke eye contact first, releasing a sigh as the initial jolt of adrenaline from her dream finally dissipated. Lee inched closer, moving his arm around her shoulder and keeping her close to his side. She didn't fight him; how could she? He was the only thing currently keeping her from finding the deepest darkest hole and crawling inside it. Ironic; for once, Apollo was preventing her escape, not causing it.

With another heavy sigh, she rested her head to his shoulder and smiled slightly as she felt the slight pressure of his lips to her scalp. She knew they should be on the move, or at least making a plan, but this little cave with its damp walls and frigid air was the first place they'd been truly alone since that fateful night on New Caprica. Kara wanted to enjoy it.

"We found Helo."

Unbidden tears welled in her eyes at the mere mention of her best friend. "Did you take him home?"

"We buried him here." Lee shifted slightly and leaned his back against the largest rock, being sure to keep Kara snuggly against his side. "I wasn't sure how long it'd take to find you."

Kara nodded, but didn't speak. She couldn't without releasing the sob that welled in her throat and Kara wasn't ready for that.

"I'm sorry."

Lee's apology, while tinged with grief, was also Kara's undoing. She couldn't go through this. Not now. If she stopped to grieve Kara would give up the fight, she knew that. She was hurt and tired and hungry and cold and her spirit was bruised and broken in more ways than she could catalog. Her heart was also precariously close to breaking and Kara knew it would not survive another blow – whether from mourning or the blast of a Cylon's gun.

She pulled away quickly from Lee, fighting off the dizziness and tried to stand. It was useless, of course; her body wasn't ready to go vertical despite her determination. Lee caught her, his strong arms wrapped around her waist as she literally fell back against him.

"I got it," she panted, trying to regain her balance.

Lee's grip tightened. "No, you don't. Let me help you for once."

Kara bit her tongue refusing to be baited. He knew what a sacrifice it was for her to rely on anyone, but he was still there. Solid, immovable Lee. As she shifted her weight so he could better support her, she figured it made sense. In the revolving door that was their relationship, Lee was always the one left standing in the wake of her quick exits.

"Can you walk?" His body was warm and his voice was soft as it whispered against her cheek.

Wincing, her answer was a few tentative steps. While shaky, they did qualify as forward motion and Kara took that as a good sign. She could feel Lee's eyes on her as she put one foot in front of the other, could feel the tension in his arms when she faltered and he compensated for the shift in balance.

Just a small stroll around the cave tired her out and when Lee insisted she take a seat, Kara didn't fight him. With a heavy sigh, she sank to the ground, trying to find a comfortable position. Closing her eyes, she breathed in and out a few times, trying to catch her breath.

Once she felt more composed, she opened them to find Lee's baby blues staring right back at her.

"We need to move out."

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," Kara smirked, getting a small smile from Lee. As he crouched before her, Kara noticed the way he favored his right side and for the first time took a really good look at him.

Reaching out a shaky hand, she tilted his chin up and caught his gaze. "You're hurt."

"Hi pot, I'm kettle." It was Lee's turn to tease and Kara obliged him with a small grin, but she didn't miss the fact that he didn't deny her assessment.

"Sit."

Lee frowned, but did as commanded. Kara pushed at the shoulder of his jacket. Lee's frown deepened. "Frak, Kara, I'm cold too. You can't have my coat."

"Look who's the comedian," she commented wryly, succeeding in getting the shoulder of his coat off and exposing the bandages there. "Frak, Lee. What the hell happened?"

"Mountain lion." Lee winced as her hand ghosted over the gauze. He avoided her eyes, unwilling to see her anger or concern. They didn't have the time.

Kara studied the wound for another moment. She couldn't stop the bubble of laughter that rose in her gut and escaped her lips. As soon as it was out, she clamped her hand over her mouth, eyes wide as she realized how inappropriate her response was. But she couldn't suppress it and soon she was laughing outright and Lee had joined her.

"We've been in space too long, Apollo. One day on solid ground and look at us?" She needed to stop laughing, her ribs were killing her, but she literally couldn't. Tears welled in eyes and fell unbidden down her face, a mixture of amusement and pain. Soon, she was gasping.

It wasn't funny anymore.

Lee seemed to catch onto the change a moment before she pitched forward, head falling heavily into her hands. Her shoulders were shaking. Couple her condition with the cold and the stress and it was amazing she'd kept it together this long.

"Kara," he breathed, his voice warm against her ear as he shifted forward and cradled her in his lap. She felt idiotic and weak and vulnerable; three emotions she never admitted to knowing, let alone feeling, but Kara found that trying to be strong took energy she no longer had.

Still, she had seen his wounds. She feebly tried to pull away. "You're hurt," she sniffled, as more tears fell down her face. Meeting his blue-eyed gaze, her next sob lodged in her throat. It was amazing how truly expressive two small organs could be.

He didn't even answer her. Lee simply moved closer and pulled her body against his. Kara stopped fighting it … stopped fighting him.

000BSG000

The moment she sank against him, Lee knew the real battle was over. They weren't okay and they weren't normal and they were about five galaxies from ordinary, but somehow Lee and Kara, Starbuck and Apollo would make it through this.

The hope that flared in Lee's chest was tempered by another of Kara's muted sobs. She had turned her face into his neck, the wetness of her tears coating his skin. She was right; he was hurt, but holding her close was the only cure he could think of.

This was an indulgence and they both knew it. They didn't have time nor was their location even remotely secure. But Lee didn't care and he wasn't going to let Kara care either.

He was simply going to hold her.

000BSG000


	5. Chapter 5

**Stranded: Part Five**

000BSG000

"When we left them, Apollo was positioned here and Starbuck's trail had veered in this direction. Judging by the terrain and the extent of her injuries, I'd guess she'd taken shelter in these mountains, which is where Apollo was heading."

Five pairs of eyes were glued to the map table as Tyrol finished his explanation. Since their raptor had made it back to Galactica, a little over six hours ago, few words had been spoken. Tyrol had been a bit worried the Admiral might refuse them clearance once he figured out that neither Apollo nor Starbuck was on board. However, the Old Man had simply commandeered them the moment they stepped on the deck and spirited them away to the Situation Room.

Galen risked a look to the Admiral, noting how the man's face betrayed little emotion. He supposed it was evidence of his years in the military, his ability to remain collected, regardless of the odds. But if he looked hard enough, Tyrol could make out the slightest glimmer of fear in the other man's eyes.

"We'll send two raptors and a SAR." Adama's voice was a rough rasp. "I want at least one complement of Marines to cover the extraction from the ground. The other raptor-"

"Sir." Gaeta's interruption refocused the room's attention. "We've just received word – a basestar is orbiting the planet."

Tyrol's eyes flew back to the Admiral. Adama sighed heavily, resting his fists on the edge of the table before him, his chin tucked against his chest. While his tense posture told his subordinates he was thinking, the sound of his heavy sigh told Tyrol he was also debating the risk to the fleet.

And if he could justify that price for his children's lives.

"That's new, sir," Tyrol told him, keeping his voice low. Racetrack met his gaze and gave him a small nod, verifying his assumption. "The skies were clear when we lit out of there."

Adama nodded, but still didn't speak. Tigh kept silent vigil at his Admiral's side, his face impassive as usual. Tyrol could only imagine the other man's interest in risking life and limb for Starbuck – although he'd witnessed firsthand the change in their relationship since the exodus.

The president was close by as well and Galen was surprised at her silence. She was never one to withhold her opinion, solicited or not. He watched as Adama's eyes slid to her slowly, amazed at the small smile of reassurance that quirked her mouth. It seemed to settle something for the Admiral and Tyrol was unable to judge Sharon's mood before he spoke again.

"They know they're down there."

Frak.

"We never should have left them, sir," he admitted softly, surprised when he felt Adama's strong hand grip his shoulder tightly.

"Chief, I know my son and I know Starbuck. I would never have expected you to work miracles."

"We need a new plan." He addressed the room and met each of their gazes before turning back to the table. "We need a-"

"You need a Cylon." Sharon had been silent until this moment, her grief over her husband's sudden death taking its toll. Now, she drew everyone's attention as she stepped forward and met the Admiral's gaze unwaveringly. "I have an idea."

000BSG000

"Lee, as much as I hate to say it, we've got to get the frak out of here."

He sighed heavily against her hair as she stated the obvious. He'd wondered how long it'd take before this newfound level of intimacy would set her on edge. Lee was slightly amazed she'd held out this long.

Bracing himself for the emotional and physical distancing she would no doubt subject him to, Lee waited a handful of heartbeats for Kara to slide back into her Starbuck façade.

When the only thing to happen was a tightening of her arm about his waist, he wondered if he maybe was dreaming.

"Uh, Kara?"

She murmured an acknowledgement even as her cheek nuzzled into his shoulder. Now, he was downright confused.

"In what way is this 'moving out'?"

Her chuckle was a light rumble along his side and Lee shuddered pleasantly. "You have a point, Apollo." She sighed, not an anguished sigh or a pained one; more like content, before she lifted her head and met his blue-eyed gaze with her hazel eyes. "But can I help that you're such a comfy pillow?"

Lee clenched his jaw for a moment, fully intending to resist the urge he had to kiss her. But then she smiled at him, just a little smile, and Lee gave up the fight.

His hand wound its way into her hair, cradling the back of her head and pulling her lips to his. The suddenness of the movement caught Kara off guard and Lee reveled in the feel of her mouth opening to his, sliding his tongue through quickly to tangle with her own. Her shock gave way to passion and Lee moaned as she deepened the kiss, pulling his breath from his mouth, his lungs, his soul and dragging it into hers.

She shifted slightly and Lee found his lap full of Kara as she slid into place, her fingers dancing over his scalp and adding to the sensory overload he feared might bring him to a quick end. They had kissed before, plenty of times, but Lee had never felt this much abandon. They were all alone on this nameless planet. No curious crewmen or disgruntled exes to come traipsing through and disturb them. Of course, there was the threat of Cylons happening upon them, but if Kara kept doing those delicious things with her tongue and teeth, Lee would gladly die right this minute.

But that would mean taking Kara with him and he refused to do that.

Kara had moved her lips to his neck, sucking softly on the skin there, causing Lee's eyes to cross. He needed to put an end to what he had foolishly started before they were both killed or further wounded.

"Kara." It was barely a sigh, which she ignored, choosing instead to sink her teeth into his neck, leaving a mark that she quickly laved with her tongue. Oh Gods, her tongue …

Lee felt the blood draining quickly from his head to lower regions and knew he wouldn't hold out much longer. Kara, feeling his growing arousal against her thigh, decided to add to his dilemma, rolling her hips over his and emitting a low moan that caused his already excited cock to jump.

_Lords, please don't let her hate me_. With the little will power he had left, Lee managed to place his hands on her shoulders and pull back a bit. Confronted with her flushed face and kiss swollen lips, Lee had to wonder how many kinds of stupid he was to make her stop. "Kara, you were right. We need to move out."

"Now?" The spark of desire in her eyes was hard to miss and Lee knew it was reflected in his own.

"Gods, I'd love to say no and frak you until neither one of us can walk, but you were right."

She held up a hand and Lee braced himself for a tongue-lashing. Instead, he got a smile that practically lit the sky. "You just told me I was right twice in as many minutes." Recounting his words and knowing she was right - again, Lee waited as she had a good laugh. "That's a first, Apollo."

He risked a quick nip of her lips before gently moving her from his lap to the ground at his side. "I was distracted," he told her, voice dropping to a husky timbre and eliciting a small shiver to run through Kara's shoulders.

"You don't say," she cracked, standing slowly and wincing as the euphoria from their heated embrace left aching muscles in its wake. "Frak, Lee, we didn't even do anything and I'm sore."

"That's the concussion talking." He rose as well, slowly, ignoring how his entire body screamed in protest. He moved to gather their things, trying to pretend that his slow movement was deliberate and not a limp. Kara headed in the opposite direction, circling the outside of the cave and gathering the few items they had scattered about.

"I'm not sure how much farther from the crash site we should go." Lee hated the silence between them now. Especially when he could still vividly remember her mouth on his. "The Cylons we saw were heading to the north, but there's really no cover …"

He allowed the statement to die as he realized Kara's silence was a sure sign she wasn't listening. If she had been, she'd have spoken up; Starbuck always had an opinion. Glancing up, he caught sight of the top of her blonde head as she kneeled towards the back of the cave.

Worried she might have fallen, Lee dropped his duffel and moved as fast as he could back to her side. He came up short as he realized she was kneeling beside Leoben's body.

Unable to think of anything to say, Lee instead reached out to touch her, resting his hand to her cold shoulder. When she flinched, springing up swiftly and moving away from him, Lee knew whatever had happened between Kara and the Cylon was long from forgotten.

"Kara, did he-"

"No, Lee. We're not going to talk about it." Her voice was steel and Lee didn't miss the dismissal.

"Kara, whatever he-"

"Lee." He met her eyes knowing he'd regret it; knowing he'd see a dozen emotions swirling there that she'd never explain. He was right. Back straight, shoulders set and gaze steady, she told him again, "We're not going to talk about it. Not now, maybe not ever. We've got to get the frak out of here and back to Galactica."

He watched her put on Starbuck's armor right before his eyes, marveling again at the undeniable strength she carried in her lithe frame. It made him acutely aware of his own weakness; the weakness named Kara Thrace.

She moved about again, quickly gathering a few things and Lee did the same. He let the silence hang, let her think she'd won. Hell, maybe she had. Maybe Lee would just give up the fight. Maybe he would finally resign himself to the fact that there were some aspects of Kara he would never know.

He shouldered both packs just as Kara bent to place one on her shoulder. Quirking an eyebrow at him, he had to return the bemused smirk that graced her face. "Chivalry, sir?"

Nope, not a chance in hell – Lee would find out every last detail about Kara Thrace if it killed him … or her … or, chances were, both of them.

"That's just the kind of guy I am." She chuckled softly, a sound Lee had sorely missed in the weeks and months and year they had been apart. As he moved towards the mouth of the cave, he handed her the spare sidearm he'd wrangled away from the Chief. "I'm not stupid. Even concussed you're the best shot in the fleet."

"Funny how you finally realized that." With sure hands she checked the chamber and cocked the gun, keeping it at the ready. Lee watched her movements and found the words were out of his mouth before he could stop them. "I won't stop asking, you know." She regarded him with narrowed eyes, obviously not following the non sequitur. But as his hand took hers, his thumb rubbing gently along her knuckles, he saw realization dawn. "I won't, Kara. Not ever."

He waited for her to yell or maybe punch him, but all he got after a few tense seconds was a slow sigh and the smallest hint of a smile. "I wouldn't expect any less, Apollo."

000BSG000

"She's down there. We have to go back."

"She's not alone, as I'm sure you must have managed to figure out."

Leoben and Caprica stood in a tense stand-off, the other models unfazed as they witnessed a familiar scene.

"I can get to her." Leoben was many things, including persistent.

"And Apollo will just get to you. I don't really see why you're so eager to head back down there."

"It's Kara."

"She's human and hates your metal innards. Why can't you just-"

"Enough!"

Both models turned to regard Cavil as he stared them down, anger evident in the glare. "The point is moot, Leoben. You won't be returning to the planet."

Leoben sought askance from the others, but his beseeching gaze went unnoticed. He would get no pity here, no understanding. Not one of the models could possibly comprehend the pain he was in, every minute of every day that he was separated from the great Kara Thrace. Not one of them could understand his desperation to get back to her, to bring her home – with him, where she belonged.

There was no point in trying to explain it, so he simply turned on his heel and stalked from the room.

Silence reigned for several minutes and it was Caprica who finally spoke. "He'll just take a raider and go after her."

Cavil sighed heavily, knowing the tall blonde was right. "Which is why it might be time for a proper burial."

000BSG000

Kara and Lee didn't have a very clear idea of where they were heading. It was deduced that they should head away from their current location, but the idea of moving farther from the downed Raptor made Lee uneasy. He guessed that when his father sent in the cavalry, they would start their search at the crash site. The longer Galactica's crew had to buzz the surface hoping to find them, the better chance the planet's Cylons would shoot them down.

Lee followed Kara as they slowly made their way to the west, following the ridge as it continued through dense foliage. He had tried to walk beside her, tried to lend her his support, but with Starbuck brashness he was only too familiar with, and a withering glare that could send lesser men to their knees she had refused his help. Lee had backed off.

He could tell though as he watched her now how much pain she was still in. Her leg was not getting any better and Lee could see her limp deteriorate as the day went on. Her shoulders were tight with the effort of keeping herself upright and while Lee's arms ached to support her he knew she would view it as weakness, an insult. He couldn't risk it.

In truth, focusing on Kara's condition prevented him from dwelling on his own dismal state. His shoulder still throbbed where the lion had taken a chunk out, but it was his ribs that had him worried. Every breath hurt and Lee feared he'd punctured a lung.

Basically, they needed to get off this frakkin' planet and back to Galactica – soon.

Kara halted a few paces before him causing Lee to stop short as well. "What is it?"

"Shh." She scolded softly as her eyes scanned the undergrowth to their right. While her shoulders had been tense before, Lee watched as her entire body went rigid, preparing for battle. Unholstering his weapon, he assumed her posture and followed her gaze, catching the sight and sound of rustling leaves.

It was the only warning the creature gave as it leapt towards them. Lee recognized the gray and white mass of fur as it lunged for Kara. He threw himself towards her, landing in the path of the lion, as the animal hit him full in the chest, knocking his hard fought breath from his lungs. Falling back to the ground with a strangled cry, Lee raised his arms to block his face, waiting for the sharp bite of fangs in his skin when he heard the telling ricochet of gunfire.

With barely a growl, the lion's full weight came to rest on Lee as Kara's head shot killed it instantly. Struggling to stay conscious, Lee shoved at the animal's bunk futilely, relieved when he felt more than saw Kara add her own strength to his. As the lion rolled off Lee to his side, he could finally take in a full breath and the shock to his system caused him to wretch.

Fighting not to black out, he stared at the leafy canopy over his head and actually prayed.

000BSG000

"Gods, Apollo, you are such a frakkin' martyr." Kara knew he was hurt; she wasn't an idiot. She had known he was injured back in the cave. And while she was feeling far from fine herself, Kara knew that Lee had been out in these woods searching for her with no one to administer to his wounds.

"I could have shot the thing, you know?" She kept her tone tight and slightly peeved hoping to mask the real concern she felt as she did a quick scan of his injuries. His eyes were unfocused and his chest was heaving trying to take in air that had him wincing with every breath. "You didn't need to throw yourself at its feet."

"You're welcome," he ground out between pants. Kara simply scowled harder and reached for him, deftly undoing his jacket and lifting up his tanks. The bruising was severe, but it was the exposed rib bone that had her concerned.

"Frak." Kara took her own deep breath and tried not to panic. She could do this – she could save him, just as he'd saved her. Glancing about, she scanned the ridge looking for the next shelter they might be able to find. It was slim pickings this far into the forest, but an alcove just over two meters away was their best bet.

As Kara turned back to Lee she watched his head roll to the side and immediately slapped his cheek, drawing a groan and a scowl from him. "Stay awake, flyboy," she warned, gathering their things as best she could. Ignoring the pain in her own limbs, she worked her arm under his shoulders and braced his arm around her neck. "Come on, hero, we've gotta get goin' before his buddies come looking for a fight."

Lee groaned again, but made no protest as she hefted him to his feet. She was shouldering the majority of his weight and considering his muscle mass alone that was saying something. Briefly, Kara wished she'd never gotten in that Raptor a little over two days ago. Wished she didn't need flying so badly now, after New Caprica, after Sam, after Leoben … instead of Lee.

Pushing those thoughts away, Kara began the slow trek towards their newest shelter, all the while praying that Lee wouldn't die on her too.

000BSG000


	6. Chapter 6

000BSG000

"Well, look who's finally decided to join me."

Lee heard her voice before he opened his eyes and wondered how she knew he was coming around. Was it a six sense? Something he'd always suspected they shared, but never admitted to. It was the only way to explain how they flew so well, so … together.

"'Bout time, flyboy."

He opened his eyes and was greeted with Kara's smiling face. She was actually smiling, not smirking or grinning – smiling and the sight alone stole his much-needed breath.

"Am I dreaming?" he wheezed before he was even aware the words were forming. She looked beautiful, hovering over him, blonde hair falling about her face, wide smile and bright eyes. She looked healthy and well and Lee wanted to touch her. He wanted to know it was real.

His arm had other ideas though and he couldn't raise it more than a few inches before it flopped uselessly to the ground.

Her hand was blessedly cool as it rested against his forehead. "Not dreaming, Apollo," she whispered, her smile fading to be replaced with concern. "Just really fuzzy. I gave you the good stuff."

His brow furrowing, Lee tried to remember how much morpha they had. Not enough to cause this level of euphoria, surely. Not if she was taking it too.

"Kara-"

"Shh." Unlike earlier in the day, the admonition was gentle, soothing and Lee closed his eyes against it. "You need it more than me, Lee, end of story. We can fight about it when you're healthy and well and back on Galactica."

"You're in pain." He squeezed the words out despite the difficulty, forcing his eyes back to her face.

This time, she grimaced. "I'm a cancer, Lee. Incurable, isn't that the way it goes?"

He had no idea how to respond to that. He wanted to tell her no, she damn well wasn't a cancer, she was a life force, his life force and then he knew the drugs were really working. He never got that poetic in real life. Instead, he sighed heavily and closed his eyes once more, the effort of keeping them open proving to be too much. "'S'not true, Kara. I love you."

Silence reigned and Lee tried to open his eyes, tried to judge her reaction, but he couldn't. He was so tired and his mid-section still ached, though the pain was dull and barely noticeable. He wanted to tell her again, but sleep claimed him and everything was black.

Kara watched as his breathing evened out, focusing on the shallow rise and fall of his chest. The words didn't surprise her, not really. While Lee had said them before, it wasn't the words that Kara relied on to know his feelings towards her. Words were simply words – Leoben had professed to love her the entire time he held her captive and she had known that was a lie. Sam had claimed to love her as well, but only when she was his Kara, daring and wild and full of Starbuck-ery.

No, Lee loved her because he showed her – when she let him at any rate. It was a million little things she had cataloged and a million new things he did every day. Throwing himself into the path of that lion was another one, added to a growing list.

With a sigh, Kara moved, slowly, back to the fire and the mountain lion meat roasting over it. She had scavenged the meat after getting Lee to safety and at least resting comfortably. Now, as night was falling again and the temperature dropped, Kara was glad for both the food and the fire. While this newest shelter was not nearly as deep or cave-like as their last, it still provided protection from the elements and gave them a strong wall at their back.

Lee stirred again, calling for her and Kara's heart leapt into her throat. It was rare that the all-mighty Apollo professed to need anyone, almost as rare as the all-mighty Starbuck – but the sound of her name on his lips pushed her pain away and reaffirmed her purpose of watching over him.

"I'm here, Lee. You're okay." She sat beside him once more, taking his hand in hers and running her fingers through his sweat-dampened hair. He was running a fever, more than likely from the infection around the broken rib and there was little she could do about it. She just prayed the morpha did its job.

"I thought it wasn't real," he murmured, his eyes fluttering open and giving her a glimpse of dull blue before shutting again. "I thought you weren't here."

"I'm right here, Lee. I'm not going anywhere."

"Kara … mm … Kara, its bad."

She felt her throat constrict and swallowed hard. "It's not that bad," she lied, thankful that her voice remained steady. "You're just a big ol' baby." She smiled at him again, hoping the expression would stymie the rise of tears in her eyes.

"Am not," he managed to rasp before his body shook with a deep cough. Kara supported him as best she could, cradling his head to her chest and holding his shoulders tight. He slumped against her at last and she gently laid him back, whispering nonsense noises the whole time.

"Just rest, Lee, okay?" She could see him fighting the sleep he needed. Kara watched as he kept forcing his eyes open only to have them fall shut in the next second. "It's okay, just rest."

"Don't wan-" It was getting harder for him to form words, Kara watched the struggle and knew it was bad. "Only for a little while, 'kay?" He sighed and let his body rest against the ground. "Wake me … don't want you to be alone."

Kara managed to keep the tears in until she knew he was asleep. She sat next to him still, holding his hand, tracing her fingers through his scalp, listening to him breathe. His last thought was for her, of course. Kara was uncertain what she could have possibly done to deserve such devotion.

000BSG000

"You sure about this?"

Sharon turned to find the Chief studying her over the top of his clipboard. He'd been on her case since the moment she volunteered for this mission and it appeared that all of her reassurances in the past eight hours had done little to convince him.

"If you're not going to believe my answer," she warned, turning back to her console and continuing her pre-flight check. "Stop asking the question."

She heard the Chief sigh, and could tell he was moving closer. As he sat in the co-pilot's seat Sharon bit back a sharp retort. No one was allowed to sit there except her husband.

"No one would blame you if you weren't," he reminded her. Sharon continued to flip switches. "No one would blame you if the very last place you wanted to go was to that planet."

"My husband's buried there." Her words were ice cold and even and when the Chief moved away from her after another minute she knew she'd finally gotten her point across. She didn't give a frak if everyone thought this was the most ill-advised choice in fleet history. The Admiral had given his blessing and trusted her to bring his children home.

Of course, she had trusted Kara to bring her husband home, but apparently a Raptor-pilot-sleeper-Cylon- turned-double-agent couldn't win them all.

000BSG000

Lee awoke slowly and knew two things for certain. Kara was sleeping at his side and she hadn't been kidding when she called them the "good drugs."

Of course, despite the medicine-induced fog, he wasn't foolish enough to try and move. However, he did roll his head to the side, forcing his eyes to focus in the dim light of the dying fire and bring Kara's sleeping face into view.

Just like before when he'd seen her watching over him, she looked radiant. Her cheeks were a bit flushed and the bruise under her right eye was still a nasty shade of purple, but she was beautiful. Peaceful in sleep the way she never was in life. Lee longed to touch her, hold her, remind her of why they were so good together, but his body would not cooperate – big surprise.

Again, as if she could sense his gaze on her, Kara came around, her eyes opening slowly as she blinked a few times to bring the room into focus. Lee watched her carefully, noting the way she winced as she stretched her body, knowing that her injuries, while possibly less severe in light of his own were still bad. He wanted to be angry that she'd given him the last of their pain killers, but Lee knew what the sacrifice meant and he couldn't find it within himself to admonish her.

"Hey," she murmured, resting her head against her folded arm and holding his gaze. "Have you been awake long?"

He shook his head slightly and then tried to speak, glad to find it easier than when he'd been conscious before. "Just a minute."

"Good." Her voice was still full of sleep, deep and slow. She closed her eyes again for a minute and then reopened them, sitting up swiftly. Lee didn't miss how she kept her face turned away from him so he couldn't see the discomfort that no doubt colored her features at the movement. "Hungry?"

She didn't give him time to answer, moving instead to the far side of the fire and busying herself there. Lee turned his head to the other side, making sure to keep her in his sights. It was night now, and the fire, which Kara stoked, was the only light they had. In the shadow of the flames it was hard to see anything with much clarity, but he could see the way Kara moved, deliberate, hesitant and knew it was a result of her injuries.

As she came back to him, holding something in her hands that smelled suspiciously like meat, Lee tried to sit up and failed. With a groan he fell back against the ground, while Kara clucked her tongue.

"Easy there, flyboy," she scolded softly, setting the food down at his side and moving to sit behind him. As he felt her gentle hands on his shoulders, he did his best to help her move him into a sitting position, the upper half of his body resting on her bent knee and torso. He noted her injured leg was stretched out straight beside him.

"You cooked?"

She chuckled, the sound echoing through Lee's chest and bolstering his spirit. "Yes, Apollo, I cooked. I figured the least Leo could do to atone for attacking us was serve as our supper."

Lee managed a small grin before Kara fed the first small piece of meat into his mouth. His taste buds exploded at the new, yet familiar taste as the fat and protein of the meat coated his tongue. He chewed slowly, savoring the flavor, closing his eyes. It was by no means the best thing he'd ever tasted, but when compared to algae it was a four-star meal.

"Oh my Gods, we've got to take some of this back to Galactica."

Kara chuckled again even as she gave him another piece. "Why, Apollo, I had no idea you were such a carnivore."

He wanted to make the obvious remark, but found the snark died on his tongue as he chewed once more. It was really amazing to eat something with such a rich texture and taste. He briefly wondered if his intestines would feel so blessed in a few hours and then promptly decided he didn't care.

He ate in silence, a few moans of pleasure escaping as he enjoyed his supper. Kara offered him water which he tried to gulp and she made him sip. "The last thing I need is you choking," she teased as he pouted at her when she took the canteen away.

"So, what's our next move?" He noted the way Kara's eyes kept darting to the entrance to their alcove every time the smallest noise was heard outside.

She sighed. "I don't know, Lee. We know they're Centurions on this planet and we know that those mountain lions seem to have taken a shine to you." He grimaced and she continued. "Going back to the crash site would be an open invitation for anyone to find us, including the Cylons. But I don't know if just sitting here, waiting is really-"

"Kara." He could hear the panic in her voice. It was slight, barely there, but Lee knew the sound, knew what to look for and as her eyes flashed to his face, wide and bright, he knew she was close to giving into her fear. "I'm feeling better now; you're not going to have to do this alone."

She grimaced and released a pent-up breath before speaking. "That's a nice thought, Lee, but you're only as good as your last dose of morpha." The look on his face must have telegraphed his discomfort at that assessment. "I'm sorry, but it's true. I doused you pretty good, but I figure you've got about four, maybe five more hours before you start really hating life again. And we both know the chance of a rescue party finding us in that time is pretty slim."

"Slim, not non-existent." Lee was determined to fight her pessimism with his own optimism. One, he figured it would keep her from losing all hope; two, he knew it'd piss her off and a pissed off Kara was a proactive Kara.

"Save the speeches for one of your groupies, Apollo." The disdain in her voice was obvious. Lee wished she would move closer so he could get a better read on her. She was sitting across the fire from him, her gaze often riveted to the flames between furtive looks to the darkness outside. She had kept the distance since he'd finished eating and Lee found himself wondering what exactly was going on in that head of hers. It seemed to be the one constant mystery of his life.

"You mean to say, you're _not_ one of my groupies?" He smiled softly, his eyes twinkling and when Kara caught his gaze she couldn't help but smile in return. "I figured you were the head of my fan club."

"Me?" Kara feigned innocence before moving around the fire and sitting beside him. She still kept a bit of distance, but it was infinitely better than moments before. "I doubt I could quite kiss your ass to your satisfaction, sir."

"Oh, I have faith in you abilities, Captain."

The thinly-veiled innuendo hung in the air between them and Lee noticed the shift in Kara, right before she physically scooted a few inches in the opposite direction. "Lee-"

"Stop pulling away from me." He reached for her hand and managed to grab it with his own. It was a lose hold, his strength zapped, making it easy for her to pull away if she wanted to, but Lee wouldn't let go without a fight. "Tell me what happened with Leoben." He figured if he was going to piss her off, he might as well go for the gusto.

"No."

"I've heard that explanation, it leaves something to be desired." Did she honestly think he'd be so easily deterred? At moments, it seemed Kara Thrace didn't know Lee Adama at all. "Tell me what happened."

She glanced to him, a withering glare with no real fire behind it, before shrugging lightly. "He found me on the planet, said he wanted to help me. Then he tried to rape me. You know the rest."

Lee was woefully aware that was far from the whole story – in fact it was barely the teaser. "Kara."

"Lee."

"How do you expect us to move forward if we can't talk about things?" Her eyes flashed with an emotion Lee couldn't place and he just kept going. "We have to get on the same page, Kara. We have to start with trust. Remember?"

"It has nothing to do with trust, Lee." Her response was barely more than a growl. "In fact, it doesn't have anything to do with _you_ – so leave it."

She got up and huffed across the cave, putting the fire between them again. Lee knew he should leave it, should just let it be and give Kara her space, but he couldn't. For good or ill, he needed her to tell him.

"You're wrong, Kara." Her eyes snapped to his face, the flames of the fire causing the hazel to glow orange. "It is about trust. You don't trust me." She opened her mouth for a moment and when no sound came forth, Lee pushed on. "You don't trust me to love you once you've spilled your secrets. Whatever Leoben did, you think it's your fault, that I'll punish you for it."

"Because you never have before," she spat out bitterly, rolling her eyes and sinking back to her haunches.

The truth stung and Lee was glad for the drugs. "Things are different now, Kara. You know that."

"Do I, Lee? _Really_?" She stood, towering over him and the fire. She looked like a Phoenix, rising from the ashes, ready for a fight. "Tell me, what proof do I have? You're still married!"

"So are you!"

Lee wheezed as the yelling did his lungs little good, but Kara barreled ahead. "Right, because I'm a screw-up, Lee. _I'm_ the adulterer who's having an affair with a married man. Who moved down to that gods-forsaken hunk of barren rock because I knew _we_ could never work. Who was held prisoner by a psycho Cylon who wanted me to play house-" With a rush of air, Kara's argument deflated, her body caving in on itself. She rested her hands on her knees, gasping for breath and Lee's concern rose tenfold.

"Kara?" She didn't answer him, didn't even glance in his direction and he again cursed his useless body. "Kara, come on. Are you all right?"

Pale and a little shaky, she raised her head and met his gaze. "Neither one of us is in any shape for one of our usual talks," she panted, lowering herself gingerly to the ground and wrapping her arms around her knees.

Lee knew she was right. His own body was still protesting even the slight movement of trying to reach out to her. As he relaxed back into a horizontal position, he questioned, "So, I guess we need to see if we can actually have a civil conversation, huh?"

Kara snorted derisively, but met his eyes and cocked an eyebrow in a clear expression of challenge. Lee took a deep breath – well, the deepest he could given his ribs and asked, "Can we?"

Her hazel eyes were again illuminated by the fire making them shine with an amber warmth he wanted to drown in. After a long second, she finally nodded once more. "We can certainly try."

000BSG000

Lee was still staring and Kara wished he would just ask whatever it was he wanted to know and get this little exercise in civility over with. She knew that neither of them could keep up the act for very long. It didn't matter what Starbuck and Apollo were doing – fighting, flying, frakking – they did everything on the edge, barely holding on. It was more fun that way.

Although, at the moment, Kara was feeling a little "fun-ned" out.

The sound of Lee clearing his throat drew her attention back to him and those damn blue eyes that were clearer than any of Picon's oceans. Kara was pretty sure it was his eyes she had fallen in love with first. Well, and his muscles – she was a hot-blooded female after all.

"What did you mean before, Kara?" His voice was even, steady, but she could sense the urgency lacing his tone. "When you said he wanted to play house? What did that-"

"I was his prisoner – on New Caprica."

Lee's eyes widened and then narrowed and Kara saw his shoulders tense with anger before he managed to ask, "You were held by the Cylons?"

She shook her head. "Not Cylons, plural. _Cylon_, singular." Holding his gaze evenly, she said his name, refusing to shudder. "Leoben."

Lee released a huge breath and Kara studied him. All she could see in his eyes was disbelief and maybe pity; both made her uncomfortable. He cleared his throat again. "What do you mean?"

She sighed and leaned back on her hands, trying to get her leg into a comfortable position. It was still throbbing and although she didn't want to tell Lee, she was starting to lose feeling in her toes.

She returned her focus to him and willed her voice to stay even. She needed to get this out, needed to tell him what he so desperately wanted to know and then they could move on. Gods, she hoped they could move on.

"He had me in this apartment for four months. I mean, considering what everyone else was living through I shoulda counted my blessings, right?" Lee didn't make a move to speak and Kara continued. "Three square meals a day, most of them warm, a nice, comfy bed, indoor plumbing – frak, I was living it up." She knew her tone had grown bitter and she let it; let the bile she felt at the memory of those four months rise in her throat. She had kept it at bay for far too long.

"I could hear the Resistance waging their war, but I couldn't join them." She stared into the flames, remembering how, her first few weeks in captivity, she'd stared at the small fires burning throughout the camps, praying that someone would find her – praying that Lee would come back and rescue her. She'd felt guilt for not wishing for Sam to come to her aid, but Kara had stopped lying to herself when she was trapped in that damn tower – she had finally admitted that she wanted Lee and so he had been the white knight in her fantasies. "I could only kill that mother frakker every chance I got."

Lee inhaled sharply at the admission and Kara returned her gaze to his face. "Sometimes the next model would come in while I was still washing the blood off my hands."

"Kara, did he-"

"No." However the question was going to end, Kara knew the answer had to be no. Lee couldn't hear the truth, couldn't hear about how she'd almost given in a half a dozen times; how she had finally kissed that toaster to get Kacey away from him. Kacey …

"He tried to break me down. Didn't you always say I was too stubborn for my own good?" She wanted to lighten the mood. The air in the cave was thick with tension and unspoken apologies and Kara wanted it to go away. She was having a hard enough time breathing as it was. "Even brought me a kid – thought maybe a little blonde-haired baby would be the key to my heart."

Kara saw the recognition flash in Lee's eyes before he spoke. "When you came back from the surface, you had a child with you, a little girl."

"Kacey." She smiled at the memory – it was impossible not to. Kacey had been the cutest little girl, and in those last weeks, Kara's only lifeline.

"What happened to her?"

"She's with her mother." Lee's eyes flashed again, this time with confusion and she continued to explain, trying to keep her emotions out of it, focusing only on the facts. "She wasn't mine. Apparently, whatever they did to me at the Farm wasn't enough to get a kid from. Leoben kidnapped her too. She lives with her mother, Julia, in Camp Oil Slick. I visit when I can."

Lee's eyes closed and Kara watched him closely, preferring to focus on his reaction than face the emotions their conversation had brought roaring to the surface. It was no use though – there was no way to escape the memories of Leoben, hovering over her, asking every night for her to join him in bed, telling her he loved her, adoration shining in his eyes, pride even reflected back at her as she'd slid knife after knife into his neck and left him to bleed.

Her eyes slid shut of their own volition and Kara could see him, smiling that patient smile as he'd loomed over her in the cave, as he'd tried to consume her, to own her body as he'd tried to own her mind. Frak, maybe he did own her mind – even now, months after New Caprica and at least twenty-four hours since Lee had come to her rescue, all Kara could think about was how close Leoben had come to succeeding.

How close she had _let_ him come.

A strangled sound escaped her throat and Kara curled in on herself, pulling her knees back into her chest, ignoring the pain in her leg as she wrapped herself into the tightest ball imaginable. She could hear Lee calling her name, could hear the fear and concern in his voice, but Kara couldn't stop thinking about Leoben. It was only a matter of time before another model found her here. And if he came neither she nor Lee would be able to fight him. She couldn't go back – she just couldn't.

"Kara!"

Lee's shout echoed off the rock and startled her enough to look up. He had tried to reach out to her, tried to move to her side, but had only gotten a foot or so before his injuries prevented any further movement. "Kara," he breathed, relief washing over his face as he saw he had her attention. "I really can't come to you. Would you come over here, please?"

"There's nothing you can do, Lee." She was proud of how steady her voice was. Her insides felt like they might fly apart at any moment, but there was no trace of that fragility in her tone. "There's nothing you can do to fix it."

"I can hold you, can't I?"

Damn Lee and his romantic notions. Kara wanted to ignore him and stay curled in the fetal position, licking her wounds. But the look in his eyes was penetrating and she felt it rock her to her core. "It won't fix anything," she admitted softly, her voice a whisper.

"You don't know that." Lee retorted, stretching out his hand. She knew it wouldn't fix anything, but she'd take it – she'd take the comfort and security and warmth Lee was offering. She'd been without for so long.

Slowly, painfully, she rose and made her way to his side, grabbing the thermal blanket he'd kicked off in his haste to reach her. Putting their packs under Lee's head, she sat beside him and helped him to lie back down, no easy feat as his body continued to protest. As Kara watched him fidget, trying to find a comfortable position, she backed up a few inches. "I don't think this is a good idea, Lee. You're hurting."

"And you're not?"

A sharp, witty rejoinder was on her tongue in a second, but Kara let it die there as Lee opened his arm to her. She laid down slowly, resting her head on his bicep, the one part of him not currently injured. It wasn't the most comfortable, but he was close and Kara could feel their shared warmth under the blanket as she settled it on top of them.

Lee's hand wrapped around her shoulder and his fingers started rubbing a light circular pattern into her skin. She sighed, realizing this was what it felt like to be content. She wanted to bottle the emotion – save it for when she would surely need it later.

"Dee left me."

Lee's voice interrupted the quiet, but Kara didn't mind the distraction. She took a deep breath, let it out slowly and said, "Before I left, I contacted one of the priestesses. She's going to dissolve my marriage to Sam."

"I thought divorce was sacrilege." She could hear the disdain in Lee's tone and didn't blame him. She'd been a fool to use her faith as a shield.

"What I'm doing now, keeping Sam trapped in a loveless marriage is worse. The Gods want happiness for their children, not despair." She sighed heavily and closed her eyes. "I've caused him so much pain."

Lee said nothing and Kara was grateful. Waiting a beat, she took a deep breath and then lifted her head to meet his eyes. His blue eyes held her gaze steadily, his face a breathtaking mixture of love and concern. With a shaky hand, Kara stroked his cheek and admitted, "I've caused you so much pain, Lee. You have to know this will never work."

He shook his head once and his gaze turned hard. "No, Kara, I don't know that. And neither do you. We've never tried."

She wanted to tell him he was wrong, wanted to tell him that it didn't matter if they tried until they were blue in the face. She would screw it up, it's what she did. "Lee, I …" Gods, the words wouldn't come. There had to be a dozen different things Kara could say to wound him, to permanently remove him from her orbit, but she couldn't. She could never say the words, which was why she'd always lashed out with action. Kara Thrace wasn't much of a talker.

Kara opened her eyes again, worrying her lower lip between her teeth as she continued to stroke Lee's stubbled cheek. His eyes were clouding with what she feared was pain, but she could still see his concern there. Could feel it in the way his fingers lingered on her skin. Refusing to over think this for another moment, Kara leaned forward and pressed her lips to Lee's, reveling in the way his soft mouth opened to her, in the way she felt his need as he returned her touch. His passion was as deep as her own, and Kara nipped at his lower lip, tracing her tongue along his and sighing with delight when she felt his tongue meet hers.

Yup, she definitely wasn't a talker.

000BSG000

Lee was breathless and when they parted for air, he fought to fill his lungs, doing his best to hide the discomfort such panting caused to his chest. Kara's forehead rested against his shoulder, her hand lying gingerly atop the bandages of his opposite arm. Lee wanted to wrap her up. Wanted to pull her to him and keep her safe; drive every nightmare memory of her time on New Caprica from her mind. He wanted to drive every moment they had never shared from her brain, from her heart. He wanted to be everything for her.

He at least wanted to try.

Regaining his breath, he licked his lips and forced himself to speak. "How can you say we won't work?"

Her head shot up, narrowed eyes regarding him. He knew it was her greatest fear. Greater than her fear of being killed in combat or her fear of being recaptured by the Cylons. No, she feared the failure of their relationship; that's why she consistently ran. It was easier to never try, than try and fail.

Lee would be damned if they failed.

"You know me, Lee. Better than anybody. How can you possibly think we will work?"

Her eyes pleaded with him. Lee could feel it in the way her hand squeezed his arm ever so subtly. She really wanted an answer. Lee wanted to give her one.

"I have a theory." She cocked an eyebrow and he got the distinct impression she was trying not to laugh. "Do you want to know what my theory is, Kara?"

She smiled, just a small one, but a smile all the same, and leaned closer to him, running her fingers through his hair. "Desperately," she teased, pressing a kiss to the tip of his nose.

Oh, if he had the movement, he would have slapped her ass for that little comment. Fighting the playful smile that threatened the corners of his mouth, he continued. "My theory is we'll work, because we love each other."

Her face fell in a second and Lee knew why. "I'm not saying you didn't love Zak, Kara. Or even that you didn't love Sam." She averted his gaze, but he kept going. "But Zak was taken from you by powers out of your control. I know you think it was your fault, that you screwed it up, but Kara, you didn't. It was an accident, a freak accident. The Gods didn't take him from you as punishment."

She was going to fight him. Lee could see the retort forming on her perfect mouth. He barreled ahead before she had the chance. "And I know you loved Sam. I know how much you wanted that to work, but Kara, neither Zak nor Sam was ever going to work, not in the long run."

"Because of me," she whispered quietly and Lee could swear he saw a tear snake its way down her cheek. "Because I destroyed them both."

"No, Kara." Lee used the little strength he had to tilt her chin back to his face. He wanted to believe she would subscribe to his theory; he wanted to see her eyes light up when she finally accepted it. "It didn't work out because you weren't meant to spend your life with them." He swallowed hard and took the final step off the tightrope he'd been walking ever since he'd met Kara Thrace. "_We're_ meant to be together, Kara; you and I. Starbuck and Apollo."

She just stared at him and Lee held his breath. As one minute passed into two, he whispered, "Lee Adama loves Kara Thrace."

"It's heart-warming. Really."

Kara and Lee both shot up at the sudden sound of a third voice. Lee groaned with the discomfort of the movement and fell back to the ground, his eyes riveted to the cave's entryway. As he recognized the figure standing there, he immediately sought out Kara's hand and held tight. She had to believe they were going to get out of this.

Kara's eyes remained glued to Leoben as he entered their enclave slowly. His gaze never left her face and Lee got the distinct impression he was trying to undress her with his eyes. His look was a leer, dirty and inappropriate and Lee wished he had the strength to shield Kara from it.

Her grip on his hand was firm, but he could feel the way she was shaking. This wasn't good.

"Heart-warming, but inconsequential," Leoben informed them, his voice even and matter-of-fact. Reaching the couple, he squatted beside Kara, running a hand down her bruised cheek. Kara jerked back from him, but Leoben gripped her chin firmly and held her in place.

Lee's blood began to boil. "Get your hands off her."

Leoben sighed, an annoyed, impatient sound, before turning to Lee. He kept his hand where it was. "Or what, Apollo? You'll glare me to death?" As Lee's scowl deepened, Leoben continued. "We both know you're a hands-breath from death. There is nothing you can do to stop me."

"Don't bet on it." Lee was bluffing, he had no other choice. He had to buy them time before Leoben took Kara – before Lee lost her again.

"Kara belongs with me." Leoben's attention returned to Kara's face. Her hazel eyes were cast to her lap, her hand still firmly wrapped around Lee's, the other holding the blanket against her chest. "Isn't that right, Kara?" Her head shot up as he addressed her directly. "You know it's true."

"You're sick," she rasped, her voice shaky. "Sick and demented and a frakkin' machine. I do _not_ belong with you."

"What about New Caprica, Kara? We were almost a family. You almost had everything you wanted and then you ran." Leoben's eyes turned hard, his face angular and unforgiving as he spared Lee a glance. "Back to him, back to pain and frustration. Tell me Kara, are you really happier back on Galactica than you were with me? With me and Kacey?"

It was unfair of him to mention Kacey; Lee could see the flare of hope that flashed in Kara's eyes at the mention of the girl. But she swallowed hard and answered him, her voice far steadier than only moments before. "Yes."

Leoben struck her hard and fast, giving Lee no time to react. As the sting of his slap registered, Kara pulled her hand from Lee and he felt the loss of her contact like a physical blow. He had to anchor her or Leoben would succeed.

He reached for her hand, but Leoben smacked his away, taking Kara firmly by the shoulders and pulling her to her feet. His face inches from her own, Kara met his cold gaze unwaveringly as he told her, "That's a lie, Kara. Why do you insist on being unhappy? You've suffered enough."

Lee watched horrified as Kara's gaze softened slightly and her hand reached out to tenderly caress the Cylon's cheek. "I know," she whispered, her eyes never leaving his face. "It's time to end it."

Leoben's face lit with a wide grin before it fell as Kara pulled her knee up and jammed it into his stomach. He doubled over in pain and Lee watched as Kara joined her hands together, cracking Leoben's skull and dropping him to the ground. Turning to Lee, she ordered, "Gun."

He simply reacted, reaching into the pack at his shoulder and pulling out her sidearm. Tossing it the few inches to her, Kara caught it deftly and fired, hitting Leoben square in the middle of the forehead. She stood frozen over his body for a few moments, breathing hard, staring as the dirt around the dead machine's head soaked with blood.

Lee sat back stunned. He'd feared the worst at Leoben's entrance, but he'd just watched Kara dispatch of him handily. And she seemed fine. Perhaps a little shaky from the adrenaline rush, but –

Lee's vision swam and he knew he had precious few seconds of consciousness left. His body was shutting down from the stress of his injuries. And while the adrenaline may have helped to fuel Kara's actions, the stimulant's ebb in Lee's own system was causing his body to revolt.

"I love you, Kara." He breathed the words before falling back to the ground. As her face bobbed above him, Lee smiled and tried to rest his hand to her cheek. "You're frakkin' amazing and I love you."

"Lee?"

She sounded so worried. Lee desperately wanted to go to sleep.

"Lee, stay with me. Lee? Come on. Stay. With. Me." He felt her hand wrap around his own. It was warm and reassuring and he wanted to stay with her – forever, if they could manage it.

But his body betrayed him and Lee succumbed to darkness with Kara's voice ringing in his ears. "I love you."

000BSG000


	7. Chapter 7

**Stranded: Part Seven**

A/N: Here's the end – thanks for all the great comments on this! I really loved writing it and I'm glad you all like it too! Yay for BSG! Just about 24 hours to go … woo hoo!

000BSG000

It was good to be back on Galactica, but Kara's body still refused to rest. She had tried and in those first few hours succeeded in getting some sleep – the pain meds Cottle had pushed through her I.V. didn't hurt either. But now that she was awake and more fully aware, Kara found it nearly impossible to close her eyes.

She had to be with Lee.

Against everyone's recommendation she was sitting with him now, his hand wrapped in her own. The room was silent, the only sound Lee's heart monitor as it steadily reassured her that he would be fine.

Kara could barely breathe for relief.

It had been close. After she'd managed to kill Leoben and Lee had passed out, Kara had panicked. Luckily, Sharon chose that moment to appear, bringing a Raptor and fresh medical supplies like a gift from the Gods themselves. It was touch and go there as they worked to get Lee back to the ship and Sharon dodged the Raiders circling the planet. Kara had been so concerned with Lee she didn't even try to fly.

A med team had met them on the flight deck, along with the Old Man, but Kara had ignored them all. She'd ignored the sound of Sam's voice wondering if she was all right and all but decked one of the nurses who had tried to assess her injuries. Of course, her scowl didn't work on Cottle. The old coot simply ordered her to sit on a cot and wait to be checked out. Ten hours later she'd woken to find her mid-section wrapped tight, an I.V. stuck in her arm and the worst case of cotton mouth she could remember.

Then she went to find Lee.

Cottle had told her he'd be okay. That while the broken rib and the infection surrounding the punctured skin were not good, they were treatable. He informed Kara that Apollo would more than likely be out for a few days and that even once he regained consciousness it would be a good two weeks before he saw the inside of a cockpit. But he'd recover.

"Kara."

Her head shot up as she heard the sound of her name pass breathlessly through his lips. Reaching up to rest her hand against his forehead, Kara tried to quiet him. "Shh, Lee, you're okay. Just get some sleep."

Slowly, sleepily, his head rolled to the side and his eyelids fluttered. Kara watched as he forced them open, revealing the smallest sliver of blue. A slow and sleepy grin spread across his face and Kara returned it. "You okay?"

She nodded, worried her voice might give out if she tried to speak. His eyes slid shut again and Kara breathed a sigh of relief. Raising his hand to her lips, she kissed his knuckles softly, muttering a prayer she hadn't spoken in months; one of gratitude.

"Something tells me you shouldn't be in here."

The Old Man's voice should have startled her, but Kara found the gravelly sound more than welcome. Smirking, she turned to him. "Who's gonna stop me?"

Adama held up his hands with a smirk of his own. "Far be it from me. I could order you, but we all know your track record for obedience is spotty at best." Just as Kara formed a protest, the Admiral's eyes drifted to Lee and he added, "At least where my son is concerned."

"I love him."

Kara had no idea what had possessed her to speak so freely. She had barely admitted her feelings to Lee, but apparently she could admit them to his father. She felt her cheeks blush red and Kara focused her eyes on Lee's hand as she cradled his fingers in her own.

"I know."

It wasn't the response she'd been expecting, but it was the one she needed. Kara raised her eyes to his again and felt tears forming there. With a sigh, Adama approached, covering her and Lee's joined hands with his. "Just be happy, Kara." As a lone tear trickled down her cheek, Adama bent and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "Just make my son happy."

Unable to speak, Kara nodded once more and focused her attention back on Lee's sleeping face. Once the she heard the Admiral leave, she rested her head on the edge of Lee's bed and let the tears come.

000BSG000

It took Lee two days to regain full consciousness. He was in and out of it for minutes at a time and whenever he managed to open his eyes, he was always confronted with Kara's smiling face. Each time he awoke, he asked how she was, only allowing his body to rest once she had managed to murmur she was fine. He knew it was a lie, but for the moment he'd take it.

He'd been well on his road to recovery for over a week, and now, he was sitting up, albeit cautiously, waiting for someone to escort him to his quarters. Cottle had tried to delay his release, but Lee was tired of being in life station and had seemingly lost his ability to cooperate with the medical staff. So, with the commander's blessing and Kara's assurances that Lee would be looked after, Cottle had signed the release.

"Ready to go?"

Lee glanced up and smiled wide. He still wasn't used to seeing Kara this way – at ease, relaxed. But as she pushed the wheelchair into his room, he was greeted with her smile, a twinkle in her eyes that had been missing for far too long.

"Absolutely," he stated, doing his best to stand up and move towards the chair.

Kara abandoned it instantly, knowing that while Lee's ego told him he could take those few steps, his body had other ideas. He practically fell into her waiting arms and it was only the hours she put in at the gym that allowed her to support his solid form. "Easy flyboy," she murmured, adjusting her grip around his waist and steering him towards the chair. "Nobody needs you to be a hero."

Lee grunted softly as Kara guided him and did his best to fight back the hiss of pain. His ribs were still sore and movement, any movement, was beyond uncomfortable. But the allure of his own bunk and some privacy was too tempting to resist.

"All set?" she asked, kneeling before him and placing his feet on the foot rests. Unable to help himself, Lee cupped her chin in his hand and bent forward slightly. Reading his intent, Kara met him more than halfway, offering him a light kiss. He wanted more, wanted to deepen it, but with another smile, this one mischievous, Kara shook her head. "Not yet, Lee. You're far too hurt and you know it."

Lee let her go with a wistful sigh. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Sure you don't," she murmured, taking her place behind him. Leaning down, she brought her mouth right to the shell of his ear and whispered breathlessly, "Ready to go?"

"You have no idea," he responded, wondering how it was possible for him to go from unaffected to aroused in seconds.

With a chuckle, Kara pressed a kiss below his ear and then straightened, taking him home.

000BSG000

Lee was hurt, but he wasn't dead, so Kara made him do the CAG's paperwork. He bitched and moaned almost as much as she did, but every evening when she came to check on him, he'd have the flight rotations completed and ready for her approval and Tigh's perusal. It was a good system.

Lee knew she was hesitant still, could tell by the way she never sat too close to him and always left shortly after they'd finished eating. He'd tried a half a dozen times to talk to her about what had happened on the planet, about what had happened between them, between her and Leoben, but Kara stonewalled him at every turn. He was used to it and not all that surprised, truth be told. But it was really tiring.

A week after his release from Life Station, they finally had Helo's funeral and that's when it all came to a crashing halt for Kara.

Lee had made it to the ceremony with the help of his father. His eyes had scanned the room for her, but being CAG, she was on the dais, waiting for the Old Man to say a few words, waiting for Sharon to say a few words, waiting for the moment when she would be expected to speak. Lee got as close to the front as he could, hoping she might catch sight of him, hoping his presence might help.

He watched her closely throughout, watched how her eyes never wavered from staring straight ahead, how her posture never faltered from stiff military attention. Only the muscle in her cheek twitched. Lee could see it, pulsing every time someone said Karl's name or callsign; could see it beat every time someone mentioned Sharon or Hera.

When she stepped behind the podium, resting her hands on either side of the wooden stand, Lee could barely breathe. Kara would never forgive herself if she broke down in front of all these people. But considering everything she'd been through, he had no idea how she could keep it together.

However, he refused to underestimate her. She was Starbuck for frak's sake. She could do anything.

"I met Helo back at the Academy. The first night we met, I cleaned him out at the Triad table." A small murmur went through the room as Kara paused, the small smile on her lips indicating she was remembering with fondness. "We were inseparable after that. He was always bailing me out of trouble. Reminding me not to pick fights I couldn't finish and helping me finish the ones I was too stupid to walk away from."

She swallowed hard and Lee saw the muscle pulse again.

"After the attack, I thought he was gone, and that was hard. But we lost so many people in those few hours, he was just one more. When I landed on Caprica and saw him, I thought for sure I'd either joined him in the Elysian Fields or I was dreaming.

"But it was Helo – against all odds Karl fighting to stay alive. No matter what else he was to any of you, he was a hero to me. Surviving on Caprica for so long just proved it."

She paused again and Lee resisted the urge to hobble up there and hug her. He knew she would never accept such an overt display of affection and he knew he'd never make it, but he still wished he could.

"I, uh … I don't know exactly how to move on without him. He told me I'd be okay, that everything would be okay, but …" Lee saw tears glistening in her eyes and murmured a soft prayer to the Gods – give her strength, please.

"But I just don't know how that can be true when he's gone." Unable to say anymore, Kara turned away quickly and fled to the outermost edge of the dais. Lee could barely see her in the shadow, but he could see that muscle in her cheek beating a staccato rhythm.

000BSG000

She had retreated to the observation deck, foolishly hoping that in his condition, Lee would be unable to find her there. But as she heard the door open and his tentative voice, she knew she'd never be able to avoid him.

"Kara?"

She didn't answer him and he wasn't surprised. It was Kara's way – retreating, licking her wounds – and then coming back fiercer than ever.

Lee wondered how much ferocity she had left. Wondered even more urgently if he might be able to help her reclaim some.

He approached cautiously, noting the way her body sat, rigid, tense on the seat. Her knees were pulled up, arms wrapped tightly about them, chin cradled in her knees. Her gaze was on the star field before them. Lee got the distinct impression she was light years away.

Quietly, Lee moved to her side, taking her dress jacket off the seat and filling it with his solid form instead. He wondered where this sudden hesitancy had come from. He'd been sure that after the funeral, after her heartfelt tribute to Helo, the only thing he could do was find her. That seeing her, letting her cry or scream or hit would ease her tension. Now, Lee wasn't so sure.

Maybe there was no way to make this easier. Maybe he couldn't help her. Maybe he just had an overblown idea of his own importance … more specifically, his importance to Kara.

She didn't move as he settled next to her and they sat in silence, Kara still staring at the space beyond. Every seven minutes and twenty-three seconds CAP flew past the observation lounge window, the three ships flying perfectly.

Lee opened his mouth a dozen times or more, searching for something to say that wasn't a platitude. Nothing came.

For her part, Kara simply stared.

After ten minutes of growing discomfort, Lee knew this had been a mistake. Slapping his thighs lightly, he moved to rise, more than surprised when Kara's strong hand wrapped around his wrist. He'd been fairly certain she was oblivious to his presence.

Turning to face her, he saw none of her tension had lessened, but her eyes were no longer focused in the distance. Instead they were intently focused on his own.

"Do you want me to stay?" he asked quietly, an immense weight rising in his chest as she nodded once.

With a heavy sigh, Lee settled back against the couch and in seconds, his arms were full of Kara. She leaned over, resting her head on his thigh, curling her arm around his knees

It only took Lee a moment to grasp her other hand, their fingers intertwined tightly as his free hand brushed through her hair.

With a sigh, she allowed her eyes to close. Lee watched her shoulders relax, felt her release the tension as she more or less melted into his side. The only thing that didn't change was her firm grasp on his leg and the tight hold of her hand on his.

000BSG000

"Helo didn't know." The softness of her voice surprised her and Kara cleared her throat once, refusing to meet Lee's gaze, refusing to move. When Lee's only response was an almost imperceptible squeeze of her fingertips, she managed to continue. "Helo didn't know about Leoben."

The words were like glass on her tongue, but Kara forced them past her lips, forced herself to expel the horrid memories each statement brought to mind. "I never told him. Maybe Sam mentioned it, but I never admitted what happened." She snorted softly and then sniffled. "Some friend, huh?

"I didn't want to tell him." Her voice was a whisper and she closed her eyes against the imagined horror on Helo's face as she admitted just what exactly had happened on New Caprica. Why she worried he would pass judgment, she had no idea. Helo was the least judgmental of anyone she knew – had known. The past tense was like a slap in the face and she blinked back the sudden burn of tears. "I didn't want to tell anybody."

She sighed heavily and rose, pushing herself into a sitting position at Lee's side. She forced her eyes to his, seeing her own haunted expression reflected in those amazingly blue depths. "But I think I have to," she whispered. "If I keep living with – with what he did to me, what happened, it'll never be over." Her heart was pounding so loud in her ears Kara was surprised Lee couldn't hear it. "Right?"

Kara felt her fear like a palpable thing and tried to force it down. Tried to remember all the times in their friendship that Lee had proven how much he loved her. Tried to remember all of those thousand things he did every day to prove it, so that she wouldn't run. Every nerve in her body was screaming at her to run. She was far too vulnerable.

But, miraculously, Lee knew what to do. In silence, he reached for her hand and Kara gave it to him. Holding her gaze, he nodded once. "You can't let them win, Kara."

Her courage bolstered, she swallowed hard and nodded in return. "I know."

And then she started to speak.

000BSG000


End file.
